Current Accounts: Personal and Joint (Terms & Conditions)
Current Accounts: Personal and Joint (Terms & Conditions)
Table of Contents
1. About these Terms & Conditions
These Summary Terms and Conditions are the product-specific terms for your FirstBank UK current account – personal or joint (which can also be referred to as “Product Terms”).
They sit alongside:
- the General Terms and Conditions for Your FirstBank UK Accounts and Services (the “General Terms”); and
- our Standard Tariff and Charges (and any separate interest rate sheets we give you).
Together, these documents form your agreement with us for this account. If there is a difference between:
- these Product Terms and the General Terms, these Product Terms will apply for your personal or joint current account; and
- these Product Terms and the Tariff / interest rate sheets about a fee or interest rate, the Tariff / interest rate sheet will apply.
2. Who we are and how to contact us
Who we are
“FirstBank UK”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean:
First Bank UK Limited
28 Finsbury Circus
London EC2M 7DT
We are incorporated in England and Wales and are:
- authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA); and
- regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA
(FCA firm reference number 216772).
How to contact us
You can contact us if you have questions or need help:
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7920 4920 (Client Services Group)
Opening times: Mondays to Fridays – 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays in England and Wales.) - By email: clientservicesgroup@firstbankgroup.com
- Online: our website at www.fbnbank.co.uk and secure messages via Online Banking (where available)
- By post:
using our postal address as above.
If your query is urgent, for example, you think your card, security details or account have been misused, please call us on +44 (0)20 7920 4920 as soon as possible.
Opening times are Monday to Fridays from 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays in England and Wales)
You can ask for support at any time. You do not need to share personal medical details to request accessible formats or communication adjustments.
If your enquiry is urgent – for example you think your card, security details or account have
been misused – please call us straight away on +44 (0)20 7920 4920.
If you need extra support
Tell us if you find it difficult to use our services or to understand information we send you (for example because of a disability, health condition, language or a difficult life event). Wherever we reasonably can, we will:
- provide information in large print, Braille, audio or easier-to-read formats; and
- adapt how we contact you.
3. Who the account is for (personal and joint)
Our personal current accounts are for:
- individuals aged 18 or over;
- usually resident in Sub-Saharan Africa;
- with at least £100,000 annual income and £250,000 in assets; and
- using the account for personal (non-business) purposes.
Our joint current accounts are for two or more individuals who meet the same criteria and want to hold a shared account.
We may update our eligibility criteria over time and may set additional conditions in these terms & conditions.
4. Opening your account
To open a personal or joint current account, you must:
- complete our application process; and
- give us the information and documents we reasonably ask for – for example:
- proof of identity and residency;
- information about income and assets; and
- information about the source of funds.
We will carry out checks (including anti-money laundering, sanctions and, where relevant, credit checks). We can refuse to open an account or accept a deposit without providing you with a reason.
Your account is open when we confirm this to you. If you send us money before the account is opened, we may hold it in a separate account until our checks are finished. While it is there, it will not earn interest.
These terms & conditions explain any minimum opening deposit. If you don’t meet this, we may close the account.
Keeping your details up to date
You must tell us as soon as possible if your name, address, contact details or other key information changes, using the contact details in section 2.
If you change your mind (cooling-off period)
If you change your mind after opening your personal or joint current account, you usually have 14 days to cancel it.
This 14-day period starts on the later of:
- the day your account is opened; or
- the day you receive this Summary, the full General Terms and the Tariff.
If you cancel within this time:
- we will close the account;
- we will return your money (and any interest earned, if interest is paid on this type of account); and
- we will not charge you any extra fees just because you have closed the account early.
You will still need to pay any charges that have already built up for using the account before you cancelled.
5. Using your account day to day
5.1 Paying money in
You can usually pay money into your personal or joint current account by:
- electronic bank transfer from another account; and
- cheque, where we accept cheques for that type of account.
The person paying you will normally need:
- our sort code; and
- your account number.
We will credit your account once we receive the payment and it has cleared. Cheques may take several business days to clear.
We can refuse or return a payment instead of crediting it to your account – for example, if accepting it would break a law or sanction, or we reasonably believe it could damage our reputation.
If money is paid into your account by mistake (for example, into your account instead of someone else’s) you must tell us and, if we ask, return it. If you spend money you know is not yours, we can treat this as an unauthorised overdraft or recover it from you.
If a payment is reversed (for example, a cheque “bounces” or a transfer is recalled) we will take the money back out of your account, even if you have already spent it. If this puts your account into debit, you must immediately pay in enough to bring it back into line.
5.2 Taking money out and making payments
You can normally ask us to make a payment or withdrawal by:
- using Online Banking;
- giving instructions in person at our office;
- giving instructions by telephone (where we have agreed this with you);
- sending us a signed instruction attached to an email (if we’ve agreed to accept this); and
- using a debit card we’ve issued on the account.
We will only act on instructions from you or someone you have formally authorised (for example, a joint account holder or attorney).
We usually need:
- the payee’s details (name, account number and sort code or IBAN);
- the amount and currency;
- the date you want the payment made; and
- any other information we reasonably ask for.
If you give us incorrect or incomplete details, we are not responsible if the payment is not made or goes to the wrong account. We will try to help recover the money but may charge a fee.
Cut-off times and how long payments take
If we receive your payment instruction:
- before the cut-off time on a business day, we treat it as received that day;
- after the cut-off time or on a non-business day, we treat it as received the next business day.
Current cut-off times (which we may change) are:
- 3:00pm (UK time) – GBP and EUR payments
- 3:30pm (UK time) – USD payments
As a guide, if there are no issues:
- transfers between FirstBank UK accounts – normally immediate;
- sterling payments to another UK bank – the other bank normally receives the money by the end of the next business day.
Other currencies or destinations may take longer.
Cash withdrawals
- Withdrawals in branch require a signed instruction matching your mandate.
- For any single cash withdrawal over £10,000, you must give us at least 48 hours’ notice (excluding non-business days).
- There is also a weekly limit on how much cash you can take out across your FirstBank UK accounts (for most customers this is £20,000 a week). If you need to withdraw more than this, please contact us in advance so we can explain your options.
- For cash from ATMs, you use your debit card and PIN. We will tell you your daily limit and ATM operators may charge their own fees.
Changing or cancelling a payment
You can usually cancel a standing order, direct debit or other future-dated payment up to 5pm on the business day before the payment is due. After that, it may be too late.
If we have already converted a payment into another currency and you then cancel it, we will convert it back at the rate in force when you cancel. You bear any exchange rate difference.
When we can refuse or delay a payment
We may refuse or delay a payment, for example if:
- there is not enough money in your account;
- you haven’t given us all required information;
- we reasonably believe you didn’t give the instruction;
- the instruction is unclear or incomplete;
- making the payment could break a law, regulation or sanction; or
- we suspect fraud or financial crime.
If we refuse a payment and we are allowed to tell you, we will explain why and (where possible) how to fix it.
6. Cards, Online Banking and third-party providers
If we issue a debit card on your personal or joint account:
- you can pay in shops, online and by phone; and
- you can withdraw cash at ATMs, within the limits we set.
Foreign currency card transactions are converted to your account currency at the relevant exchange rate plus any fees shown in the Tariff and card terms.
Our Online Banking Service lets you:
- view balances and statements;
- set up and manage payments; and
- send secure messages.
The service may sometimes be unavailable (for example, for maintenance). You can contact Client Services for support on +44 (0)20 7920 4920. Opening times are Monday to Fridays from 9am to 5pm (excluding England and Wales bank holidays).
You may also choose to use authorised Third-Party Providers (for example, account aggregation or payment initiation services) to access your account. Only give them your security details if they are properly authorised. If you give them access to your account and do not check their authorisation, you may be responsible for payments they make.
7. Joint accounts – key points
If you hold a joint account:
- each joint account holder has the same rights to use the account (unless we’ve agreed otherwise in the mandate);
- we will normally act on instructions from any one of you; and
- you are all jointly and individually responsible (joint and several liability) for anything owed on the account – we can ask any one of you, or all of you, to repay the full amount.
If joint account holders are in dispute, or we reasonably believe there is a dispute:
- we may require instructions from all account holders; and
- we may limit some services until the dispute is resolved.
If one joint account holder dies, the account usually continues in the name(s) of the surviving account holder(s).
8. Interest, fees and charges
Your personal or joint current account may:
- pay interest on positive balances (or not), and
- have fees and charges for certain services.
Full details can be found in our Standard Tariff and Charges on the website.
We explain there:
- any account fees, payment charges, card fees or special service charges.
We may change interest rates and fees (for example, if law, regulation or market conditions change). If a change is clearly to your disadvantage, we will normally give you at least two months’ notice for current accounts. If you don’t agree, you can close or switch your account without extra charges during the notice period (subject to any product-specific restrictions).
9. Statements and other information
We will provide regular statements for your personal or joint current account, usually at least monthly if the account is active.
We may provide statements:
- through Online Banking;
- by post; or
- by another method we agree.
You should check statements carefully and tell us quickly if you see:
- payments you don’t recognise; or
- anything that looks wrong.
There are time limits for reporting certain issues (for example, usually within 13 months for unauthorised or incorrectly executed payments). If you delay, you may lose your right to a refund.
10. Keeping your account and security details safe
You must do everything you reasonably can to keep your cards, security details and devices safe. In particular:
- keep PINs, passwords and security codes secret;
- don’t write them down in a way someone else could understand;
- don’t share them with anyone;
- destroy any written notification of security details when you receive it; and
- keep any security device (for example, a card or token) physically safe.
Contact us immediately if:
- your card is lost, stolen or misused;
- you think someone else knows your security details; or
- you see a payment you don’t recognise.
Call: +44 (0)20 7920 4920 or email: clientservicesgroup@firstbankgroup.com.
We may suspend or restrict your card or Online Banking if we:
- suspect fraud or misuse;
- believe your security has been compromised; or
- must act to comply with law, regulation or sanctions.
11. If a payment goes wrong or you're the victim of a scam
If you see a payment you didn’t authorise or that looks wrong:
- Tell us as soon as possible and within 13 months at the latest for authorised or incorrectly executed payments.
- We will investigate what happened.
- If a payment is shown to be unauthorised, we will usually:
- refund the amount; and
- put your account back to where it would have been,
as long as you haven’t acted fraudulently and you have followed the security requirements.
Normally you’re only responsible for up to £35 of losses from unauthorised payments made before you tell us your card or security details have been lost or misused, unless you’ve acted fraudulently or very carelessly.
If you’ve been tricked into authorising a payment yourself (for example, Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud), contact us immediately. We will:
- try to stop or recall the payment, and
- investigate and consider whether you are entitled to a refund under applicable rules.
We will tell you the outcome and explain our decision.
12. Changes, blocking and closing accounts
We may change:
- these Summary Terms (for clarity only);
- the full General Terms;
- your Product Terms; or
- the Standard Tariff and Charges. Tariff and interest rates for reasons explained in the General Terms (for example, law, regulation, market conditions or costs).
We may block, suspend or restrict your account or certain services (e.g. card, Online Banking) if we reasonably believe:
- your security has been compromised;
- there may be fraud or financial crime;
- we must act to comply with law, regulation or sanctions; or
- there is a dispute about who owns or can operate the account.
You can usually close your personal or joint current account at any time by contacting us. You must repay any money you owe us first (for example, overdraft, unpaid fees).
We can also close your account by giving notice (or immediately in serious cases such as fraud or misuse), as set out in the General Terms.
Using money in your other FirstBank UK accounts (set-off)
If you owe us money (for example, because of an overdraft, unpaid fees or another debt with us), we may use money in your other FirstBank UK accounts to reduce or repay what you owe. This is sometimes called “set-off”.
If you have both sole and joint accounts:
- we will only use money in a joint account to repay a joint debt; and
- we will only use money in a sole account to repay a sole debt in your name, unless the law clearly allows us to do otherwise.
We will normally tell you before we do this, unless we reasonably believe that giving notice would increase the risk that the money will not be repaid.
13. How your money is protected
Eligible deposits with FirstBank UK are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to the applicable limit per eligible depositor, per authorised firm which is currently
£120,000.
Key points:
- The FSCS limit applies to the total of your eligible deposits with us, not to each account separately.
- For joint accounts, each eligible account holder has a separate FSCS limit.
- Some small businesses and other organisations may also be eligible – see FSCS rules.
You can find more information and current limits at www.fscs.org.uk.
14. How we use your information
We use information about you (and, where relevant, about joint account holders, owners or representatives) to:
- open and manage your accounts;
- process payments and transactions;
- meet our legal and regulatory duties (including anti-money-laundering, sanctions and fraud checks); and
- manage our relationship with you.
We may share information with:
- other First Bank group companies;
- service providers who help us deliver our services;
- regulators, tax authorities and law enforcement where required; and
- other banks and payment providers involved in your transactions.
Our Privacy Policy explains in more detail what data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with and your rights. You can find it at www.fbnbank.co.uk or ask us for a copy.
15. If you’re unhappy
If you are unhappy with your personal or joint current account or our service, please contact:
- your Relationship Manager (if you have one); or
- our Client Services Group using the details in section 2.
We will:
- acknowledge your complaint;
- investigate what happened; and
- aim to resolve it as quickly as we reasonably can, sending you a clear response.
If we can’t resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, or you don’t receive a final response within the required timescale, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), a free, independent service.
Details are available at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk and we will include them in our final response if you are eligible.