Questions to Ask Bankers
Questions for the conversation at the desk when you are opening an account or reviewing the one you have, covering fees and the conditions that waive them, overdrafts, holds, fraud, and what the banker is being measured on.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Here is roughly what comes in each month and what I keep on deposit. Which account would you put me in, and why that one over the next one up?
Why ask it
Giving the numbers first turns a product pitch into a recommendation you can test. The useful part is the comparison: a banker who can say why the premium account is not worth it for you is one worth dealing with again.
What is the monthly fee, and exactly what do I have to do to avoid it?
Why ask it
Ask for the condition, not the reassurance. "Just keep a balance" is not an answer; the answer is a number and a rule, and you want to hear it said out loud before you see it on a statement.
Is that balance requirement a minimum daily balance or a monthly average, and do my other accounts here count towards it?
Why ask it
This is the most common way people get charged a fee they thought they had avoided. A minimum daily balance is broken by one bad Tuesday, while an average tolerates it, and combined balances across accounts often qualify when a single account would not.
What is the rate on the savings account today, and is it a promotional rate that steps down later?
Why ask it
Ask when the rate changes and what it reverts to. Introductory rates that expire after a few months are normal and fine, provided you know the date; the problem is only ever the customer who never finds out.
What does a single overdraft cost me, how many times in one day can I be charged, and can I turn it off?
Why ask it
All three parts matter, because the damage comes from repetition rather than the individual fee. Ask specifically whether you can opt out entirely and have transactions declined instead, which is usually available and rarely offered.
If a card payment would take me below zero, do you decline it or pay it and charge me?
Why ask it
This is a setting on your account, not a law of nature, and most people never learn which way theirs is set. Decide which you prefer, a declined coffee or a fee, and ask them to confirm it in the notes.
How long before a deposited cheque is available, and is the first slice released sooner than the rest?
Why ask it
Availability is often tiered, with part of the deposit released next day and the remainder held longer, and holds can be extended for new accounts or large amounts. If you are paying rent out of a deposit, this is the answer that matters most.
Which cash machines are free for me, and what do you charge if I use someone else's?
Why ask it
Ask about both charges: theirs and the machine owner's. Some banks refund a number of external withdrawals per month, and if you travel or live away from a branch, that reimbursement is worth more than the headline interest rate.
What does sending money out cost, domestically and abroad, and how long does each take?
Why ask it
Transfer pricing is where quiet banks make loud margins, especially on currency conversion. Ask whether the exchange rate includes a markup on top of the stated fee, because the fee is usually the smaller half.
If money is taken from my account fraudulently, what is the process, and how long does it usually take to be put back?
Why ask it
Every bank will say you are protected. What you want is the sequence and the timeline: who you call, whether the money returns provisionally while they investigate, and how long that investigation usually runs.
How would you contact me about suspicious activity, and how would I know it is really you?
Why ask it
This makes the bank commit to a channel in advance, which is exactly what protects you from the phone call that impersonates them. The right answer includes what they will never do, such as asking for a code or a full password.
Can I set my own alerts and card limits, and freeze the card myself in the app?
Why ask it
Customer-side controls are the cheapest fraud protection available and most people never switch them on. If freezing a card requires a phone call during branch hours, that is a real weakness worth weighing against a better rate.
What can I not do in the app, that would mean coming into a branch?
Why ask it
The gap between the app and the counter is where the annoyance lives: disputes, large transfers, address changes, a new signature. Ask now, particularly if the nearest branch is not near you.
If something goes wrong on a Sunday, who would I actually be speaking to?
Why ask it
Ask whether that line can do anything or only take a message. Twenty-four hour service that consists of a note left for a team who open on Monday is worth knowing about before you rely on it.
Is my money covered by a deposit protection scheme, and what is the limit for someone with several accounts here?
Why ask it
Ask for the scheme by name and the limit per depositor rather than per account, since the common mistake is assuming each account is separately covered. This matters most if you are holding proceeds from a house sale or an inheritance.
If I moved more of my banking here, what would actually change for me?
Why ask it
Relationship pricing is real but usually unadvertised: a waived fee, a better rate, a lower loan margin. Ask for the specific benefit rather than the sentiment, and ask whether it survives if one balance drops.
Are you measured or paid on what you sell me today?
Why ask it
Asked plainly and without hostility, this is a fair question and most bankers answer it honestly. It also changes the conversation, because it separates the recommendation you are being given from the target sitting behind it.
If there is a bonus for opening this account, what do I have to do to keep it, and is it taxable?
Why ask it
Sign-up bonuses come with conditions: direct deposits within a window, a minimum balance held for months, an account kept open a year. Ask what happens if you fall short, since the usual answer is that it is reclaimed.
Which of your fees do you see surprise people most?
Why ask it
This invites the banker to be helpful rather than defensive, and they usually have an immediate answer, since they hear the complaint weekly. It is the fastest route to the charge that is not on the front of the leaflet.
If I decide to leave in six months, what is involved in closing this account?
Why ask it
Early-closure charges, notice periods and the handling of standing orders all belong in the conversation before you sign. A banker who answers this without irritation is telling you something about how the institution treats people on the way out.
Getting straight answers about your money
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the appointment
Bring your own numbers
Know what comes in each month, what you keep on average, your lowest balance last year and how often you use cash. Recommendations only get specific once the banker has something concrete to work from.
Ask for the fee schedule as a document
Every bank has a written schedule of charges and a terms document. Ask for both, on paper or as a file, and read the overdraft, holds and transfer sections rather than the summary page.
Ask the same six questions at two places
Fees, waiver conditions, overdraft cost, availability of deposits, cash machine access and transfer pricing. A credit union and a large bank will answer these very differently, and the comparison is more useful than any ranking.
In the conversation
Convert every adjective into a number
Competitive, low, quick and flexible are not answers. Ask what the rate is today, what the fee is, how many days, and write the figure down next to the date you were told it.
Ask what would make this the wrong account
A good banker will tell you: if your balance drops below a level, if you write few cheques, if you travel a lot. The answer identifies the customer this product is not for, which is the fastest way to check whether that is you.
Negotiating is normal
Fee waivers, a better rate on a deposit, or a lower loan margin are often within a banker's discretion, especially if you are bringing several products. Ask what they can do rather than whether anything is possible.
Get the important parts in writing
Anything you were promised verbally, a waived fee, a rate for a set period, an exception to a minimum, should exist in an email or a note on the account. Ask them to send it while you are still sitting there.
Where people lose money
Assuming the balance rule is what you think it is
Minimum daily and monthly average behave completely differently, and combined balances may or may not count. This one distinction explains most unexpected maintenance fees.
Chasing a rate and paying it back in fees
A slightly better savings rate is easily undone by cash machine charges, transfer costs or one overdraft. Work out the annual cost of how you actually bank before comparing rates.
Leaving overdraft settings on the default
Most people have never checked whether their account declines or pays and charges. It takes one question to find out and usually one form to change.
Treating the banker as an adviser without asking
Some staff are licensed to give advice on investments and some are not, and the distinction is not always obvious from the title on the card. Ask directly which you are speaking to before you act on guidance about anything beyond deposits.