Put Your Money Where Your Heart is (Bank Ethically)
Want to be a socially responsible investor? It’s no secret that many of traditional high-street banks – through their commercial trading divisions – end up financing the arms trade or investing in companies damaging the environment. Some still hold Third World debt.
As more and more people join the Generous community, we are responsible for more and more ‘funds’ – hundreds of millions a year – dual income households and all that. That’s a lot of dough. While some of it is already invested with ethical banks like the Co-operative, much of it is probably not. So we recommend two ethical banks to have a look at.
First a current account we recommend is from smile.co.uk, the Internet banking arm of the Co-operative Bank, the only UK clearing bank with an ethical policy.
Second, how about opening a savings account with Triodos.co.uk which ‘only works with organisations that benefit people and the environment.’ A Triodos Bank Social Investor Savings Account will ‘directly link your savings with organisations that benefit people and the environment, like organic farms, fairtrade companies and charities.’
Join the fray by signing in.
As a Generous member, you can leave comments or tips below each action. The difference between a comment and a tip is that a tip is really advice (or wisdom, as we like to call it). A comment is just an observation.
Join the fray by signing in.
taunton, GB , 30 Aug 2005
A look at ‘The Good Shopping Guide’ is interesting when it comes to banking ethically… it shows that there are some ‘normal’ banks that are at least as ethical, if not more so, than the co-op (haven’t got this year’s good shopping guide though, so someone please correct me if this info is now out of date!)
04 Sep 2005
Again, was doing this before Generous – both Triodos and Co-op, plus several other ethical investments.
Signing up for this, however, to make myself put some more spare money in something like Shared Interest, which I’ve been meaning to do for ages. We just had a large legacy, so we are discussing what to do with it. I hope I can persuade Spouse™ to put some to a good cause.
08 Sep 2005
I have to confess that I left the Co-Op last year. It’s a long story, but for an ethical bank they’re not very good when it comes to customer service. They lost a large sum of my money, and then blamed me for it. A long wrangle followed, my MP even wrote to their chief executive and well, I’m out of pocket and no longer bank with them.
Also have to add that they made a mistake on my wife’s account, and when she asked for their £15 apology refund thing, they said, ‘It doesn’t cover that kind of mistake’. Marvellous.
And… I’ve had so many calls, requests and junk mails from them asking if I want a loan (and when I did they offered me an APR of 25%!) you can begin to see why I don’t recommend banking with the Co-Op.
Nottingham, GB , 09 Sep 2005
I’ve been trying do decide what to do on this one. The Co-op doesn’t have a local branch whereas my current bank does and therefore provides what I consider to be a useful service to the community. So my dilemma is which is more generous as opposed to ethical? (I do have a Co-op Christian Aid credit card though!)
Godalming, GB , 12 Sep 2005
There isn’t a local branch of the Co-op near us either, which would make life complicated.
I think you make an interesting point about supporting a useful community service, too, Soo. As we don’t live in a perfect world these decisions are often far from clear cut.
05 Oct 2005
My wife banks with the Co-op already but I can’t see me changing over to them. They may have an ethical policy but the way they treat their staff is not ethical at all. How can you force people to have their working terms and conditions changed without agreement? Not very ethical.
In addition, I work away for 4 days a week. It is already a 10 mile drive to visit the nearest branch of my own bank there but I’d have too drive 30-40 miles to a Co-op.
South London, GB , 05 Oct 2005
Have smile accounts and save with Shared Interest who are fab. Haven’t been to a bank for years – don’t know if this is a good or bad thing. Do use the post and post office ‘tho and internet- the ethics of which all become rather complicated.
05 Oct 2005
have banked with smile for several years you can pay money in at the post office and do the rest by phone or on-line…what is Shared Interest?
25 Oct 2005
Like several others, we don’t have a local branch of the Co-op bank. I really dislike doing business by phone, ditto online, so I guess I’ll be staying with my present bank. I do have a charity credit card, but find that tricky as the monthly payment is due at such a time that, in order to pay it off, I always seem to be going overdrawn as my pay goes into my account the following week.Am having a moral struggle with myself over this one at present!
31 Oct 2005
Changed our banking would also need to change investments away from current mix of not very nice people.
16 Nov 2005
I have cancelled my HSBC bank account and credit card as has my husband.
Bath, GB , 06 Dec 2005
Have switched to the Co-0p Bank using their telephone banking system. Our ‘branch’ is in Manchester, but we haven’t found this a problem at all. For cash we get cashback at the local Co-op usually or other supermarkets occasionally.
Faringdon, GB , 04 Jan 2006
I bank with Smile, they’ve lovely and have nice Manchester accents on the occasions you speak to them. Have also started an ethical investment with Ecological Building Society with my partner who I am in process of persuaing to move her bank account to Smile too!
Newark, GB , 16 Jan 2006
I’ve been with smile for about 4-5 years now and they’re wonderful – customer service is excellent and friendly and the online bank stuff is clear and easy to use. Although I haven’t been into a bank branch for years I do use the local post office for paying in.
07 Feb 2006
Opening a smile account was easy – they even sent me a case of wine – very nice people!
It’s miles to my nearest Co-op bank branch but I can use the local Post Office to get cash and pay in.
Just need to close my Barclays account now – but still struggling to get Child Benefit moved to the Smile account….. would it be un-generous to leave my Barclays accounts dormant? They would have the expense of running them (tee-hee)but all that paper would be wasted (boo).
28 Feb 2006
Have had a coop account for years, but recently married and now mostly using a different account. HAve managed to move the mortgage over thoough…
02 Mar 2006
Moved to Smile a year or so ago and very satisfied with the terms and conditions on the account (eg £500 fee free overdraft), and customer service has been excellent so far.
13 Mar 2006
With Smile for a few years – no problems at all.
08 Apr 2006
We’ve been with smile for about 5 years now, and never had a problem with them. I can’t say the same for my previous bank.
Scunthorpe, GB , 21 Apr 2006
I’m in the process of moving my account to Smile. HSBC decided to close the branch where I live and as they don’t have a Saturday counter service anywhere hereabouts any more I was basically dealing with machines most of the time. Banking online can’t be any harder and at least I’ll be able to pay in through my local Post Office and so support them!
GB , 29 Apr 2006
I have a savings account with Co-op, and I have to say their security regarding withdrawals and transfers is better than either Barclays or Natwest.
I am also opening an ISA with Tridos. Their interest rate is not as good as the other banks, but unlike even the Co-op, they pledge to invest in companies that actually do something positive for the environment and society!
25 May 2006
Have telephone banked with the Co-op for years & find them very efficient & helpful.
18 Jul 2006
I find the Co-op very good
GB , 11 Sep 2006
I switched to Co-op from NatWest last December. Co-op themselves have not given me any problems, their call centre is very good, you never have to wait long to speak to someone, and the operators are very friendly and polite. There is a branch in Coventry where I live, but I find I only go there to pay money in. The one problem I had was with switching. Co-op did an amazing job with switching over all my direct debits and writing to my employer to get them to pay the money into the new account. However, BT and Coventry City Council didn’t change my dd details over, which gave me a few problems. So if you do switch, keep an eye on your bills to see if they have changed your details over.
GB , 26 Sep 2006
Only just signed up to Living Generously but switched our bank account after hearing about this at Greenbelt 1 yr ago. The switch to the Co-op was the most trying thing we have done for years, even worse than switching to Green electricity( and tht took ages) We had our phone cut off as I had missed that the standing order had been cancelled at our old bank and not activatated at Co-op! Still the internet service is excellent and phone banking is a delight with quickly answered phones.
Luton, GB , 03 Oct 2006
And another place for your savings is the Ecology Building Society – they fund mortgages on properties that others won’t lend for but that recycle buildings and improve sustainability. I’m glad to think my little savings are doing something useful while I’m not using the money.
Frome, GB , 12 Oct 2006
I like the idea of the Coop or an ethical bank but I am only interested in a bank that has a branch I can walk into and sort out those problems and issues that arise all to often in personal banking.
As good as the coop and the likes are they have so many charges for just basic banking it makes it impossible for those of us on a budget.
So it is just the paractical and finance side holding me back at the moment.
Marlow, Buckinghamshire, GB , 14 Oct 2006
switched about 7 years ago from Barclays to Smile and havnt regretted it for a moment
Cheltenham, GB , 21 Nov 2006
We have recently tried switching to smile but the experience has been so poor that we have decided to switch back to a competent bank. Communication with smile has been poor, instructions have been ignored, bank charges have been falsely levied etc. Interesting to see I’m not the only one who has had problems.
Also – I just don’t think their website is as good as the competition, and the pink colour drives me crazy!
I know first direct are part of the global HSBC corporation but at least they were a very good bank, with nice understated colours. Sorry but sometimes a company deserves to win customers.
24 Dec 2006
I’m already with the Co-op and find them very good. Their online banking and phone banking are good and I’m also lucky enough to have a local branch in Glasgow. If you are with the Co-op bank, it is also worth becoming a member of the Co-op society as you get dividends for your banking with the Co-op bank and for any policies with the CIS as well as the normal dividends for shopping at the Co-op shops. This is a new arrangement and the first thing I knew was when I got a cheque through the post!
03 Feb 2007
Changed from Lloyds (boo hiss – I liked the black horse, clever, sneaky marketing) to the Co-op (hooray) well over 10 years ago and upgraded to Smile Oct 2005. A fantastic bank with clear ethical values. That’s two words that can’t be associated with many banks! Smile is all internet based and offers current, savings and ISA accounts as well as all the other financial options. Very very easy to switch and use. Highly recommended.
03 Feb 2007
Forgot to say, Smile also pay interest INTO your current account. An added bonus.
03 Mar 2007
We switched to smile over six months ago- couple of small blips in changing but keeping a watchful eye on the DDs meant this didn’t cause any real problem. Had been increasingly disatisfied with HSBC anyway. The interest rate was a big incentive too. OH in process of changing his investments to smile too. We also use the local PO to pay in cheques etc- very important as it is a rural PO and we want to support it.
Bristol, GB , 10 Mar 2007
I switched my current account from the Coop to Smile about two years ago. It’s an offshoot of the Coop Bank so there’s still an ethical policy but because it’s online, I get a reasonable rate of interest on my current account when I had no interest before. And I can deal with all my own direct debits, standing orders and bill payments myself, meaning that I can see outgoings at a glance and that any mistakes are made by me and not something I need to worry about my bank making and charging me for! Although it is more ethical than the mainstream competition, however, the Coop’s ethical policy is limited by the fact that it’s essentially about what it will not invest in (eg the arms trade and the tobacco industry) rather than what it will. For a ‘positively ethical’ account it is worth considering Triodos, a bank of Dutch origin whose UK head office is in Bristol. Triodos offer accounts where you can be sure that your money will be used for very specific ethical investment. I have an Organic Saver account with them, for example, where all the deposits are used to make loans to organic farms and other businesses – and 25p is donated to the Soil Association by Triodos for every £100 invested. They also do similar accounts with other ethical and charitable causes. The rate of interest is very modest and Triodos does not yet offer current accounts, but it is a really worthwhile place to save. I put £100 a month from my Smile current account into Triodos to save towards our summer holiday and the cost of Christmas!
Wokingham, GB , 15 Jun 2007
I’m with Smile – have been for years, and they pay great interest, and you never need to use a branch.
16 Jul 2007
I have been with smile for probably about 7 years. I have to say I have always been slightly concerned that their ethiscore at www.corporatecritic.co.uk is ‘poor’ (nearly ‘very poor’). Other banks such as Alliance & Leicester seem to rate much better though they don’t necessarily market themselves as ethical. I’m guessing smile’s score is low as they might invest our money ethically, but are not so good in other ethical areas (or other parts of the Co-op group aren’t so good). I think I did write to them once about it but never heard back.
Taunton, GB , 17 Jul 2007
Just joined Smile. Now have full suite of visa, current account and ISA – though need to go through rigmarole (sp?) of transferring all of my DDs/SOs and pay to the new accounts before they work quickly.
So far not liking the telephone service as much as First Direct (with whom I’ve banked for 15 years or so)... Ho hum. The price we have to pay for banking ethically I guess.
Leeds, GB , 23 Jul 2007
I was really interested in smile and all ready to sign up, but then read the small print saying you have to pay £1000 a month. As I earn less than that, I can’t have a current account with them.
So which of the high street banks are best, as my ‘ethical option’ is out of the running?!
Leeds, GB , 25 Jul 2007
Another interesting question is banks v building societies, what do people think? Are they just the same these days?
Godalming, GB , 27 Jul 2007
You don’t need to pay £1,000 a month into a Co-op account and you can use the Post Office and High Street cashpoint machines, plus there are a growing number of branches.
Martock, GB , 24 Mar 2008
Mrs Smudge is with Smile, but I stuck with NatWest becuase they are the only bank that has bothered to keep branches open in the villages round here.
I was quite shocked when I started looking into the pension funds (they were just standard retail funds). Loads of tobacco, oil, defence companies. So check out ethical investing!
11 Jun 2008
I’ve finally done it. It’s taken a year or so, on and off. Moved both personal, current and savings, and work (our own business) accounts to the Co-op. So far so good. I like the fact that you can usually speak to a real person when you need to. Local branch staff are really friendly.
Little Green Fee, GB , 19 Sep 2008
We have recently switched our joint account to Smile but my personal current account is with Natwest, Pension C&G and savings Nationwide. I don’t intend changing Natwest or Nationwide as both have always given good service to me, the pension though I have moved more of the shares into environmental and will be going to have a chat about more ethical options.