Citibank Access Account

Internet banking:Your debit card is connected to your login name so if you lose your card or your card expires you will not be able to view your account/s online and you'll have to wait till the new card arrives to get back online, it can take over a week. I notice that every night at about 9PM you can't view your transactions or your payments you have set up. When i send a message online it takes almost 2 days to get a reply and the reply usually has no real answer to my question but advises me to ring the free phone number.Telephone banking:Obviously the call centre is not in the UK but i think in India. The customer service is really terrible not only do they have difficulty understanding English but they can't carry out the simplest instructions. I know it can't be easy for them with English not being their mother tongue but they only seem to understand key words like 'Account' or 'Flexi Saver' , they reply in script like a robot. General banking:Online transfers between citibank UK and other UK banks usually takes a frustratingly long 4 working days. My wife uses HSBC and it takes 2 hours to send payments to most UK banks. Not many branches in the UK just 4 in central London and 1 in Manchester so you usually have to pay money or cheques into Lloyds tsb which makes the transactions stretch to almost 5 working days before they hit your account. I pay my bills purely by standing order and again i need to set up these payments early for them to hit the other UK bank account on time. Conclusion:Although i don't doubt for one minute that the Citibank in USA is very good i believe the UK arm of citibank is rather weak. I would go as far as to say it's an amateur job of a bank. Probably the worst bank in the UK, i strongly recommend you go with an original UK only bank. I'm leaving Citi for good and i ain't ever going back! You'll never guess where though :)

I have been with Citibank now three years, and find that their levels of service are not that good compared to the other two banks I bank with.

It is totally frustrating not to be able to talk to someone in The UK, and not having any local branches you can call into to discuss your account is frustrating, unless you live in London, where you have branch access.

I opened my Citibank Access Account primarily so that I would have access to my money worldwide. The other big rival HSBC was not offering free global transfers like Citibank. Also since I have a Citibank account in India, my money would be freely accessible in Citibank ATMs in India without having to worry about transferring every time I needed it by paying only the conversion fee.

The account opening procedure was quick and painless; I had a personalised T&C booklet sent out in the welcome pack. And the debit card & all the PINS, (ATM, Internet & telebanking) all came out as soon as the application was processed (all within 2 weeks).

I receive my monthly statements on time and cheque book was issued on request. All standing orders & direct debits were taken care of with the form that arrived in the welcome pack, I'm glad I made the move as now I need not worry when I travel across the world, as long as I can find a Citibank ATM, I ' m sorted with regards to cash.

I have only one grudge against Citibank especially since I live in Scotland, is that they have branches primarily only in London. This means I can only access my account online and at best check balances & withdraw money at LINK ATMs elsewhere in the UK. My salary is paid directly into my account but for people who deposit cheques into their account; these can be paid into any Lloyds TSB branch throughout the UK.

This hasn ' t been a problem but for people who like to visually see their bank, and transact at their branches to give them a sense of security with regards to their finances, Citibank would be good only if you work in central London.

Overall I ' m a satisfied customer so far, especially over the last few months hearing about the instability of other UK banks, citi hasn ' t been wobbling and in any case it is regulated by the FSA and the FSCS protection of 50 grand applies to its accounts.