Essentials Current Account

There’s a £2 monthly fee to maintain the account. We take it from your account automatically each month.

The Fee Information Document (2.15 MB) details the main fees and charges on this account, including those associated with using an overdraft. For further explanation of our main terms and services take a look at our Glossary

An overdraft lets you borrow through your current account. It’s intended mainly for short term costs or emergencies and isn’t generally suitable for longer-term borrowing. There is a cost associated with using an overdraft. The way you manage your overdraft, for example if you don’t repay your interest and charges regularly, may affect your credit file. This could make it harder or more expensive to get credit with us or other providers in the future.

Overdrafts depend on your circumstances and you must repay any overdraft when we ask in line with our General Terms and Conditions. We may ask you to repay all or part of your overdraft at any time but we’ll try to notify you of this in advance.

An arranged overdraft is when we let you borrow up to a pre-agreed limit – you can ask for one when you open your account or at any other time.

An unarranged overdraft occurs when your account goes overdrawn without an arranged overdraft in place or if your account goes over your arranged overdraft limit.

When you try to make a payment that would take you into an unarranged overdraft, we make the decision whether to allow or reject the payment based on your individual circumstances. If we allow a payment, it will take you into an unarranged overdraft. We don’t charge fees for allowing or refusing a payment due to lack of funds.

Am I eligible? How much will it cost?
Is the eligibility checker right for me?
Already completed the eligibility checker? You can retrieve your previous decision

The table below shows you how you’ll be charged for using your overdraft.

How does our overdraft compare? The purpose of a representative APR is to enable customers to compare the costs associated with different credit products.

If you’re switching from another bank to an account with us, there’ll be no arranged overdraft interest charged for the first 4 months.

If you’ve requested temporary overdraft support that is coming to an end and you need further support, please go to our money worries page.

If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200 you’ll be charged an interest rate of 39.94% APR/ EAR (variable). Actual credit limit may differ.

We offer other current accounts with different overdraft interest rates or without the option for an overdraft facility. We also have different borrowing options, such as credit cards, personal loans, and additional loans for our existing mortgage customers. Learn more about our borrowing options

There are other charges with this account, such as when you use your card abroad. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for details.

Overdrafts depend on your circumstances and you must repay any overdraft when we ask in line with our General Terms and Conditions.

You’ll be automatically set up to receive text alerts when:

• your account makes or may make  use of an unarranged overdraft
• you have regular payments due on your account and you don’t have the funds to cover them
• where a payment is refused as you don’t have enough funds.

You’ll also be automatically set up to receive an alert when your account goes further into arranged overdraft which may cause the cost to increase.

We’ll send them before your account is charged so that you have plenty of time to pay in money and either avoid or reduce overdraft charges. If we don’t have a valid mobile number for you, we might not be able to reach you.

You can also register for other account alerts to help you to stay on top of your finances. For example, alerts to advise you when your balance has fallen below a set limit, or you have had a deposit into your account greater than a set amount.  For more information visit Account alerts

You can manage your alerts settings at any time by using Online Banking, calling us on 0800 9 123 123 or visiting a branch.

If you need support with managing your money or if you’re in debt, please visit our money worries page for further support.

You can earn 1-3% cashback on selected household bills paid by Direct Debit every month. Cashback is paid monthly, capped at £5 per month in each of the 1%, 2% and 3% cashback categories.

Cashback is paid on Direct Debit payments made directly to the provider. If your water bill, for example, is included within your council tax bill, cashback will be paid at the rate applicable for council tax, as it isn’t possible to identify the proportion of the payment that relates to water.

Exclusions apply: cashback is not paid on TV licences, LPG/ Calor gas, maintenance contracts (e.g. boiler repair cover), other insurance contracts, commercial use or commercial mortgages.

Find out which suppliers you can earn cashback with.

You are over 18 and live in the UK permanently.

Retailer Offers makes it easier to earn a little extra from a variety of Retailers. Once you switch on Retailer Offers in Online or Mobile Banking, you’ll be able to choose the offers you’re interested in and earn up to 15% cashback just by using your Santander cards.

24/7 banking on all your devices. You can set up personalised account alerts and amend your statement settings once the account has been open for at least 24 hours.

• Online Banking
• Mobile Banking app
• get personalised spend insights with My Money Manager
• register to receive mobile-to-mobile payments with Paym
• contactless payments with your mobile by linking your Santander debit or credit card to your Apple, Android or Samsung device.

Face-to-face support in branch and UK-based telephone support.

• In branch
• Telephone Banking
• ATM
• Post Office

Keep your banking details private and secure.

For more information about our approach to security as well as more useful information to help you stop the threat of fraud visit our Security Centre

Your documents, statements and some of your letters will be sent as an e-Document to your secure inbox on Online Banking (unless you require documents in an alternative format, such as braille)

To open the account, you’ll need to provide us with an email address as you’ll receive an email when a document is ready to view.

Once the account has been open for at least 24 hours, you can update your account settings at any time to start receiving statements and other correspondence by post. You will still be able to earn cashback as long as you continue to meet the eligibility criteria.

This account doesn’t pay interest.