Recently we’ve changed the way we display your accounts and balances in Online Banking to give you a clearer view of your money.
- Current accounts
- Savings/Loans/Mortgage/Credit Cards
- What do my balances include?
- View Statements/Certificate of Interest
- Making payments and transfers
- Recurring transaction
- Direct Debits & Standing Orders
- Troubling logging into Online Banking
Current accounts
The main change you will see is the balance that was previously called “Available balance” has changed into two separate parts:
- Balance including pending transactions – this is now the prominent balance you will see for your current account (and will be shown in bold)
- Arranged overdraft limit (if you have one)
What do my balances include?
Balance including pending transactions - this is the amount of your own money including any pending transactions outstanding. It doesn’t include cheques until they are cleared (for more detail on pending transactions and cheque clearing see below).
Overdraft Limit - this is your arranged overdraft limit. If you do not have one, this will not show.
Overdraft Remaining - this shows the remaining amount of your arranged overdraft, this will only be displayed if you are using your limit.
Account Balance - this is how much money you have in your account before any pending transactions are processed and includes uncleared cheques paid in. This was previously called ‘Today’s balance’.
Examples of current account balances
Example of an account in credit with no overdraft facility
| Account balance | Balance including pending transactions | Overdraft limit | Overdraft remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100 | £75 | This will not be shown | This will not be shown |
The account is in credit and has £25 pending transactions. The customer can spend another £75.
Example of an account in credit with arranged overdraft
| Account balance | Balance including pending transactions | Overdraft limit | Overdraft remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100 | £75 | £500 | £500 |
The account is in credit and has £25 pending transactions and an overdraft limit of £500. The customer can spend another £75 without going into their overdraft and paying interest.
Example of an account overdrawn with arranged overdraft
| Account balance | Balance including pending transactions | Overdraft limit | Overdraft remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100 | -£150 | £500 | £350 |
The account is overdrawn and has £250 pending transactions. The customer now has £350 remaining of their £500 Arranged Overdraft limit remaining (use of Arranged Overdraft will include paying interest).
Why has my current account balance been changed?
As part of the rules introduced by the banking regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), all banks have made changes to how they display available balances on current accounts. This is because your ‘available’ funds can be a combination of your own money and any agreed overdraft limit you may have with us.
This change is so that customers have a clear view of when they are using their own funds and when they are using their arranged overdraft which will incur a charge.
How will my current account balance show if I have an Auto Transfer set up to a subsidiary account?
If you have an agreement set up between your current account and subsidiary account, you will see the prominent balance (balance including pending transactions) as a combination of the current account balance and funds available to spend from the subsidiary account.
This is the same combined balance you saw previously as ‘available’ just minus any overdraft funds, which are now displayed separately (if you have one). The individual balance for the current account will still be visible as ‘account balance’.
Understanding pending transactions
Pending transactions are transactions you have made with your debit card which are waiting to be deducted from your account. The merchant normally tells us about your transaction as soon as it happens and we set aside those funds by taking them off your balance to make sure you don’t spend the money again.
However, this process can occasionally be delayed if the merchant takes longer to notify us. This is what is called a ‘pending transaction’ and you will see this reflected in your ‘Balance Including Pending Transactions’.
The transaction normally completes in full a day or two later when it will then also be reflected in your ‘Account Balance’. Occasionally you won’t see a debit card payment as a pending transaction. This can be down to timing or where the merchant has not been able to contact us immediately because you have made an ‘offline’ transaction. These are usually on planes, boats, trains or for parking or tolls so it’s important you always ensure you have enough funds in your account before making a transaction.
My balance at the weekend
Your balance might not be what you were expecting over the weekend and bank holidays.
How can I keep track of debit card transactions?
Log in to Online Banking (opens in a new window).
Changes to when payments go into and come out of your account(s) at the weekend
Payments into your account at the weekend (like your salary, pension or other regular income)
Any payments due into your account on a Monday will only be available to you from the Monday and not the Saturday as before
Payments out of your account at the weekend (like direct debits and standing orders)
Any payments due out of your account on a Monday will leave your account on the Monday, meaning this money will be still available to you over the weekend.
An uncleared cheque example
If you have £350 in your account and have just paid in a cheque for £50 the Account Balance column will increase to £400 the next day. Once the cheque has cleared, the value of the cheque will be reflected in the balance including pending transactions. If you have an overdraft, this will also be shown.
Before cheque clearing
| Account balance | Balance including pending transactions | Overdraft limit | Overdraft remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| £400 | £350 | £500 | £500 |
After cheque clearing
| Account balance | Balance including pending transactions | Overdraft limit | Overdraft remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| £400 | £400 | £500 | £500 |
Savings/Loans/Mortgage/Credit Cards
How will balances be displayed for all other account types?
For other account types such as savings, loans, mortgages and credit cards the prominent balance (in bold) is still the Account balance (which was previously called Today's balance).
- Why is the balance of my loan more than I expected?
- How do I check my mortgage balance?
- Manage your Credit Card (opens in a new window)
View statements/certificate of interest
Making payments and transfer
Recurring transaction
Direct Debits & Standing Orders
- How can I set up and view or cancel a direct debit?
- How do I set up a standing order?
- How do I cancel a standing order?
- How do I amend a standing order?