Yes, the Smile brand still exists but it’s Online-only, so there aren’t Smile branded branches.
Smile customers can use Co-op branches, however!
Yes, for Faster Payments.
Got ya - well Starling’s FP limits would be the sufficient*. As with Rev
Just a case of whether I want to go down the fintech route come the time!
I think that’s what happened in our case. But it’s been five years now, so I don’t remember all the details. Obviously there is no requirement to give them to whole lot in advance but it might make your life a lot simpler and less stressful.
Definitely ask your solicitor though. Ours rarely volunteered anything, but if I asked them they were always happy to explain stuff.
If you do it a few days in advance (and subject to approval from the solicitor) you may also be able to transfer the deposit in multiple payments over multiple days, if you don’t want to change banks.
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HSBC allow you to do it by telephone as well.
Starling have a very straightforward system to increase their FS limits.
I believe Santander’s limit for domestic customers is 100k not 250k.
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How does the process work?
I haven’t done it myself, but I’ve read about others who have on the Monzo Community and Starling’s process always seemed to be regarded as smoother than Monzo’s.
They seem to ask for details of the transaction via chat, basically the usual anti-money laundering checks, and then inform you once they have raised your limit. I think there is then a time limit, where you have to make your transaction within 24 hours - after which the limit reduces again.
Starling have built their fraud checks into an in-app flow when you try and make a large payment, which they then review and approve within a couple of hours.
No need for me to take a photo or video, or communicate with Starling staff directly.
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Unsure this will affect too many transactions, but if banks support this for retail customers it may reduce the cost of a home purchase by no longer needing a CHAPS payment.
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