Carlos If you are looking to find a new bank, then you may be rather overwhelmed at the choice that is available. There are lots of different banks and building societies available, but knowing which might be the best is tricky. This is especially true because they are all different and therefore suitable for different people. It is therefore good to think hard about the one that you pick as you are likely to find that there will be one that will suit you better than all of the rest. But how do you go about choosing?
Consider What you Need and Want
It is worth starting off by thinking about what you want from the bank. Consider what your expectations are, not just with regards to the accounts or loans you want to use it for, but also for the customer service, convenience, reputation, reviews etc. It is good to consider what you want to use it for, what you expect with regards to how you will use it) post, email, online, telephone or branch), whether you want a well-known bank or one that you friends and family recommend and things like this. It is good to get as much details as possible. It is then a good idea to also put the items in priority order as it is possible that there will not be any banks that will completely fulfill your requirements.
Find Out More About the Banks
Then you will need to find out more about the banks so that you can consider them. It is good to start with asking people that you know about who they use and whether they would recommend them and why. This can be a great start because they will have no reason to show any bias and they will also have your bets interests at heart so will not want to recommend something to you that they did not think was going to benefit you in some way. Once you have done this then you could look at online reviews. These are much more likely to show bias but they can be useful too. Think about who is writing the information and why and whether they have something to gain by recommending certain banks over others. Also look at the banks own websites as this will allow you to find out information such as what products they are offering, how much they charge and things like this.
Make Your Match
You will then be at a stage to match up. Think about those things that you were looking for in a bank and then see which ones match up the best to them. It can be a good idea to think about whether there are certain banks that might be better for certain things as well. It can be tempting to use the same one bank for everything, but actually it might be better to have a mix. For example, if you want a loan, then you may find a certain bank is best, whereas you may feel that there is a different one that offers a better current account or credit card. While it can be slightly more complex to have accounts with more than one bank, it can be better with regards to the interest that you pay or receive and the service you get with regards to certain products. So, make sure that you do not eliminate banks because you feel you should do everything with the one bank as this is certainly not the case but have an open minded approach where you might decide to choose several, rather than just the one.
