BANK ACCOUNTS, Santander

Santander changes its overdraft facilities

Customers with Santander are set to get a bit of break if they accidently go overdrawn on their account, the bank has announced.

Santander is introducing a number of changes to its overdraft facilities, designed to help customers manage their finances more responsibly.

The bank has announced that it will introduce a ‘buffer’ on overdrafts, meaning that if customers go overdrawn by less than £12 they won’t be charged overdraft fees.

As well as this, there will be a grace period for overdrawn customers each day. This means that if customers go overdrawn, will have until 4pm that day to credit their bank account with clear funds. If they do this, they will get overdraft fee or no charge at all.

“We are committed to helping our customers manage their finances more closely and the clear and transparent changes we are making demonstrate this,” said Liz Chang, Director of Banking at Santander.

“By charging no fees on overdrafts of £12 or less and giving customers time each day to return their account to an arranged overdrawn or credit position, we are helping them to manage those occasions where they are only a few pounds overdrawn.”

Santander also recently introduced a text message and email alert system. This enables customers to stay informed about their account balance, as well as receive prompts on when their balance gets below a defined amount.

Following the popularity of these services, the bank is now bringing the same service to iPhone and iPad users, with a mobile banking app to help customers keep track of their finances.

“By introducing a new text message and email alert service, as well as mobile banking with iPhone and iPad apps, we are providing our customers with greater account control,” added Ms Chang.

Santander currently has more than five million active current account customers, 20% of which regularly use their overdraft.

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