Answers For Open a bank account

CD2 Track 1

So I thought that I'd first say a few words to help orientate you round the banking system. As new arrivals, one of the first things you'll want to do is open a bank account. This will allow you to receive your money transfers, pay your bills by direct debit and all sorts of other things that will make your life easier.

One mistake I think a lot of people make is to just wander into the first bank they see, thinking that all banks are much the same, and ask to open an account. In actual fact, they all offer something slightly different, and some of the differences can affect you quite seriously. For example, for those of you who are studying at the university here, you may have noticed that there are two or three banks with branches near the university - Great Western and Moneysafe, for example - 1but only one - Finley's - actually has an office inside one of the university buildings. For the others, you'd have a bit more of a walk.

Some banks give away free gifts: Evergreen offers a laptop to people who keep a balance of more than £5,000 for nine months; 2with International Union, you'll get a phone when you open your first account, and one or two others, like Moneysafe and Northern Star, offer mountain bikes or vacuum cleaners if you put money on deposit. That sort of thing.

More seriously, you should look at the sort of interest rates the bank will offer you, both if you need an overdraft or loan, or if you're hoping to get some interest on your savings. At the moment, Northern Star offers the highest rate of interest to savers, 3but Great Western will lend money at a lower percentage than normal to people registered on higher education courses. So you can see it really is worth looking around.

Another thing it's a good idea to enquire about are bank charges. Again, they're not all the same. Some charge the same across the board, such as Evergreen, Finley's and Northern Star, 4but Moneysafe actually say that if you're in credit, your account won't cost a thing - though, just like the others, as soon as you go into the red, their prices become pretty steep.

CD2 Track 2

Of course, one of the things you'll want as soon as you open your account is a debit card, so I thought I'd give you a little tour of these essential little pieces of plastic. If you look at the slide, you'll see that on the front at the top they tend to have either the name of the bank or the company which has issued the card. 5Then a bit more than halfway down on the right, you'll see this hologram with a picture which appears to move as you move the card around in front of you. This sort of detail makes cards very hard to forge, although, like with anything else, there are people out there who'll try. 6Then, on the back, there's another of those sophisticated high-tech details, and that's the magnetic strip, which is this black thing going from one side to the other, which contains certain coded details. While we're on the back, you'll see another lighter strip with three numbers at the end. 7That's your security number, which they always ask for when you use the card for an internet purchase or over the phone, and it also has a space where you, as the card holder, should put your signature so that shop assistants can compare it when you sign a payment slip.

8Going back to the front, in the bottom right-hand corner, you'll usually find the bank logo and just to the left of it, there's your own name in raised print.

9One thing you always need for telephone and internet sales is the expiry date, and on the card in front of you, that's just above the cardholder's name. Finally, in most places, you have to insert your card into a machine and key in your PIN. 10Just above the card number on the left, you can see a chip, and that chip is there to verify that the PIN you have entered is correct.