The Co-operative Bank announces additional support measures for personal banking customers following FCA guidelines

Overdrafts

From 4 April, Co-operative Bank customers with an arranged overdraft on their personal current account will pay no interest on up to £500 of their arranged overdraft spend up until July 2 2020, this is to help customers through this period of financial uncertainty.

• Customers with an existing arranged overdraft will have the interest waived on up to £500 of arranged overdraft use for three months from 4 April 2020 until July 2 2020, customers will be able to find out more on our website soon.
• In addition, we will delay the introduction of the new interest rate on April 4 2020 previously communicated to customers. Interest rates for overdrafts will be:
  • 18.9% for Current Account, Current Account Plus, Everyday Extra & smile Current account
  • 15.9% for Privilege, Privilege Premier & smilemore
• Both of these concessions will end on 2 July 2020 when the normal account terms and conditions will resume.
• We are able to offer additional support options to current account customers who might be experiencing financial difficulty.

We will continue to update customers through our website and social media channels of any changes that we make in support of customers as the coronavirus outbreak continues to impact our customers across the UK. For the most up to date information customers should visit our onsite support hub.

We are engaging with customers of our basic current accounts to ensure that they are receiving the support they need. We have a range of options available to help our basic current account customers and we are ensuring we tailor that support to the individual customer’s needs.

Maria Cearns, Managing Director of Retail Deposits, said: “It’s really important we offer the right support for customers at what is an increasingly challenging time, and help customers who might need it over the coming months. We are committed to helping our customers as much as we can and listening to what they need will enable us to provide them with the right support for their circumstances. We know that budgets and finances overall may be under considerable strain and we want to make sure we’re working with our customers every step of the way as this situation continues to unfold.”

As an essential service, The Co-operative Bank is working hard to keep branches open but customers should follow the Government guidance to ‘stay at home’ and only visit a branch if this is urgent. Branch availability and opening hours may change at short notice, customers should check in advance of any urgent visit if the branch is available. Customers should use online banking and the Bank’s mobile app to continue to manage their money wherever possible. In order to prioritise helping customers that most need it, customers should only call our customer service teams if they need to speak to us urgently.