Charity Bank Avis 19

Pleased to be able to Open an Account that also Benefits Good Causes etc.

Wanted to save with a bank with positive social purpose. Setting up an account was straightforward and staff were friendly and helpful. Very happy with my decision.

Great to think that your savings are having a positive social impact rather than adding to the coffers of oligarchs and unethical corporations

The efficiency of the staff who dealt with our organisation.

Telephone support excellent. Helpful, polite staff.

Online access to the Charity Bank account would be useful as the parish council has to provide monthly bank reconciliations and it is difficult to quickly obtain a bank balance.

Easy to deal with and informative customer service.

Easy to set up the account and communicate with the Charity Bank.

Everything went smoothly in opening our account and customer service was always quick and helpful.

I have had several interactions with the Charity Bank and I have found them to be both friendly and professional. Unlike the high street banks there is an extra feel good bonus when you are depositing with the Charity in knowing you are helping others.

Quick and efficient set up of new account

I hadnt realised when I opened the account that it ONLY by post/email not on line.
This needs to change soonest

Really easy to open my account and everything was explained clearly. My funds were acknowledged quickly, and the team have been friendly and reassuring throughout. It feels good to bank somewhere ethical and trustworthy

Easy and straightforward process. Friendly and helpful staff.
Date is not exact as I can’t remember the date.

So far so good. Prompt replies and when I needed to take money out it was done swiftly without issues. Chosen for their ethics and not investing in weapons and other unethical stuff

We are a charity and was recommended to Charity bank. We opened a 40-day notice saving account intending to deposit about £45k with them. However, due one of or trustees having to be be away unexpectedly, we couldn't deposit the full amount. They sent a email with just 2 days notice to deposit the remaining amount to a minimum £1000 by the time I picked up the email they had closed the account.

Update: The Head of Savings called and had a productive discussion with us and have re-opened the account. Thank you Jus for your assistance and understanding.

We set up a Charity Bank savings account to get interest on some large grants that our small charity received. Although the process for managing the account via email is a little unusual, the Charity Bank account was super-easy to set up compared to charity accounts from more conveniental banks which are an absolute nightmare.

Because it's a savings account we don't have a lot of transactions, but the system works really well and has dual signature authorisation to keep our account safe. Requests to transfer funds out of our savings account are processed within hours. Staff are really friendly and helpful and respond to questions quickly. You actually get to deal with real people!

And an attractive rate of interest, which means more money for our charitable work. What's not to like?

I have to say if I had known how difficult it would be to mange my ISA account with charity bank, I probably would have gone elsewhere. It was a real pain to set up, I had to send things in via post - in this day and age that is madness to me! There is no online banking facility. There is a complete lack of information on their website about basic things like how to make a withdrawal (it just says 'write in' - to who? Saying what? Is there a form?!). Also the interest is only applied once a year which I have found has made my overall return lower (in all honesty I don't really understand it but I have another account with the same amount of savings that pays interest monthly and I get more). Bank statements are all paper based which is bad for the environment and then I have to file the bloody things. Idk, if you're an older person who prefers post and phone maybe this is the one for you, but as a younger person used to online banking I really hate it.

I went for this ISA because I want all my savings to be used ethically but I probably will switch once I can muster up the energy to find an alternative ethical provider, simply to get away from their archaic and confusing banking systems. Which is a shame as the work they do with charities is great.

Firstly, Charity Bank doesn't trade in bit com and the other other review here I've reported to trust pilot isn't based on experience with them. I chose this highest scoring ethical bank on the 33 day notice accessible account with enough savings to get the higher interest rate. I did this online, but pleasantly surprised to find they do things differently. It is ESSENTIAL (and always easy) to telephone and discuss the process. You don't have an online visible account (although you do online or cheque transfers) and so they guide you in a friendly telephone call how to set up an initial account and then you must wait until you receive a letter to confirm (I find letters take about 8 days to arrive) with NEW details of how to transfer in to your account. Because you do not have a visible online account, all deposits / withdrawals are confirmed only by letter (8 days to arrive.) Once you get used to this process, relax. But telephone when you join to get it right.