General Information

Santander UK is a large retail and commercial bank based in the UK and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the major global bank Banco Santander. It is registered in England and Wales, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It manages its affairs autonomously, with its own local management team, responsible solely for its performance. It has its origins in three constituent companies—Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley—all former mutual building societies. It is one of the leading personal financial services companies in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest providers of mortgages and savings in the United Kingdom.

Regulation

Santander UK Plc is a regulated institution under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with License No. 106054. It holds a Market Making (MM) license type and has been regulated since December 1, 2001. The institution operates with the license type of “No Sharing.” You can contact them via email at customerservices@santander.co.uk and find more information on their website: https://www.santander.co.uk/. The regulatory status does not specify an expiry date, and Santander UK Plc is located at 2 Triton Square, Regent's Place, London NW1 3AN, UNITED KINGDOM, with a phone number of 448003897000. Certified documents related to their regulatory status are not provided in the information provided.

Pros and Cons

Santander offers a wide range of financial products and services to cater to diverse customer needs. However, it's essential to consider both the advantages and disadvantages when evaluating their offerings.

Pros:

1. Comprehensive Product Range: Santander provides a diverse selection of banking, investment, insurance, and borrowing options, allowing customers to find suitable solutions for their financial goals.

2. Accessible Customer Support: Customers can easily reach Santander's support through telephone, live chat, or the ATM/Branch Locator. The extended hours of operation and accessibility options accommodate various needs.

3. Regulated Institution: Santander is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), providing customers with confidence in their financial stability and adherence to industry standards.

Cons:

1. Monthly Fees: Some of Santander's current accounts come with monthly fees, which may not be ideal for individuals seeking fee-free options.

2. Complexity: With numerous products and services, navigating Santander's offerings can be overwhelming for some customers who may prefer simpler banking solutions.

3. Eligibility Criteria: Eligibility criteria apply to certain products, such as personal loans, which may limit access to individuals who do not meet specific income or credit requirements.

Here is a table summarizing the pros and cons of Santander:

Market Instruments

The Santander UKs segments include Retail Banking, Corporate & Commercial Banking and Corporate & Investment Banking. The Retail Banking segment offers a range of products and financial services to individuals and small businesses, through a network of branches and automated teller machines (ATMs), as well as through telephony, digital, mobile and intermediary channels. The Corporate & Commercial Banking segment offers a range of products and financial services include loans, bank accounts, deposits, treasury services, trade and asset finance for small medium enterprises (SME) and corporate customers. The Corporate & Investment Banking segment serves corporate clients and financial institutions.

Here's a summary of their products:

1. Current Accounts:

• Santander Edge Up Current Account:

• Earn cashback on selected household bills, supermarket, and travel costs.

• Earn interest on credit balances up to £25,000.

• Requires funding the account with £1,500 each month and setting up 2 active Direct Debits.

• No charges for using the debit card outside the UK.

• £5 monthly fee.

• Santander Edge Current Account:

• Earn cashback on selected household bills at supermarkets and travel spend.

• Access to an optional savings account with exclusive rates.

• Requires funding the account with £500 each month and setting up 2 active Direct Debits.

• No charges for using the debit card outside the UK.

• £3 monthly fee.

• Everyday Current Account:

• Simple and straightforward account with no monthly fee.

• 1|2|3 Student Current Account:

• Free 16-25 railcard for four years.

• Interest-free overdraft of £1,500 for the first 3 years of studies.

• Requires regular deposits of at least £500 every 4 months.

• 1|2|3 Mini Current Account:

• Designed to help children and young people learn money management.

• Offers interest on balances at certain thresholds.

• Choice of contactless debit card or cash card.

• Basic Current Account:

• Suitable for those with poor credit history or newcomers to the UK.

1. Mortgages:

• Services for first-time buyers, home movers, and those looking to remortgage.

• Options for changing lenders, borrowing more money, and managing existing mortgages.

• Later life mortgages for individuals aged 55 or over.

• Partnership with ufurnish.com for home furnishing experiences.

1. Credit Cards:

• Range of credit cards for various needs, including:

• All in One Credit Card

• Long Term Balance Transfer Credit Card

• Everyday No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card

• Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®

1. Savings and ISAs:

• Savings and ISAs for different goals, including:

• Easy Access Saver

• Regular Saver

• Santander Edge Saver

• Easy Access ISA

• Fixed Rate ISAs

• Fixed Term Bonds

• Junior ISA

• Inheritance ISA

1. Investments:

• Investment options with cashback incentives.

• Investment Hub for online advice and fund selection.

• Investment advice and resources available.

1. Insurance:

• Home insurance, including contents insurance for renters.

• Life insurance, including critical illness cover.

• Health insurance.

• Mortgage life insurance.

• Family and lifestyle insurance.

• Over 50s Life Insurance.

• Car insurance, including electric vehicle insurance.

• Travel insurance.

• Business insurance and landlord insurance.

1. Personal Loan:

• Personal loans with fixed interest rates.

• Loan amounts from £1,000 to £25,000.

• Flexible repayment terms.

• Loan eligibility criteria apply.

Santander provides a comprehensive range of financial products and services to cater to their customers' banking, investment, insurance, and borrowing needs.

Accounts

Six digit account sort codes are used in the range between 09-00-xx to 09-19-xx. Sort codes for accounts formerly held by Alliance & Leicester use the range 09-01-31 to 09-01-36.

Credit Rating

In October 2011, Moody's downgraded the credit rating of twelve financial firms in the United Kingdom, including Santander UK, blaming financial weakness. In June 2012, Moody rated Santander UK as being in a more financially healthy position than its parent company, Banco Santander.

Deposit & Withdrawal

In November 2009, Santander launched the first current account in the United Kingdom without fees (including unauthorised overdrafts) for its current and future mortgage customers. In January 2010, the bank began waiving fees for customers using Santander's automated teller machines in Spain, which traditionally would incur fees for transactions in a foreign currency.

Accepted Countries

Santander's Corporate and Commercial Banking division operates from a number of regional business banking centres across the United Kingdom. Less than 1% of Santander UK's business is held abroad.

Customer Service

Santander has frequently been rated the worst bank for customer service in the United Kingdom, although by July 2011 had sought to improve, notably by returning call centre operations to the United Kingdom from India. Its '123' product range was ranked third best in the United Kingdom in 2013, and in a moneysavingexpert.com poll in February 2014, customers ranked their satisfaction higher than with any of other main high street banks.

Santander's customer support offers several ways to contact them and obtain assistance:

1. Telephone Support:

• Customers can reach a Customer Service Center Advisor at 1-877-768-2265.

• Hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday to Saturday.

• For customers with hearing/speech impairments, there is a dedicated relay service at 7-1-1.

1. International Calls:

• For customers calling from outside the United States, there is a local number: 1-401-824-3400.

1. Live Chat:

• Customers can use the live chat feature on the Santander website to get real-time assistance with their inquiries or problems.

1. ATM/Branch Locator:

• For information on ATM and branch locations as well as their hours of operation, customers can use the ATM/Branch Locator on the Santander website.

Santander's customer support is accessible through various channels, including phone, chat, and online resources, ensuring that customers have multiple options to address their banking needs and inquiries. The telephone support hours are accommodating, and they provide accessibility options for customers with hearing or speech impairments.

Summary

Santander UK Plc is a regulated financial institution under the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with License No. 106054. They offer a diverse range of financial products and services, including current accounts, mortgages, credit cards, savings and ISAs, investments, insurance, and personal loans. Santander provides accessible customer support through telephone, live chat, and an ATM/Branch Locator, ensuring customers have various ways to seek assistance with their financial needs. Their customer service hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday to Saturday. Santander's comprehensive product offerings aim to meet a wide array of customer banking and financial requirements.

FAQs

Q: What types of current accounts does Santander offer？

A: Santander offers various current account options, including the Santander Edge Up, Santander Edge, Everyday Current Account, and specialized accounts for students and children.

Q: How can I contact Santander's customer support？

A: You can reach Santander's customer support by calling 1-877-768-2265 for general inquiries. For international calls, dial 1-401-824-3400. Alternatively, you can use the live chat feature on their website.

Q: Are there fees associated with Santander's current accounts？

A: Some current accounts may have monthly fees, such as £5 for the Santander Edge Up Current Account and £3 for the Santander Edge Current Account. The Everyday Current Account, however, has no monthly fee.

Q: What types of insurance does Santander offer？

A: Santander provides a range of insurance options, including home insurance, life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, and travel insurance, catering to various coverage needs.

Q: Can I apply for a personal loan from Santander？

A: Yes, Santander offers personal loans with fixed interest rates. You can apply for loan amounts ranging from £1,000 to £25,000, with flexible repayment terms. Eligibility criteria apply, and you can typically get a decision within 5 minutes.

Note: For some unknown reason, we cannot open MultibankFXs official site (https://www.multibankfx.com) while writing this introduction, therefore, we could only gather relevant information from the Internet to present a rough picture of this broker. Traders should be careful about this issue.

General Information & Regulation

MultibankFX, a trading name of MEX Group Worldwide Limited, is allegedly a forex and CFD broker registered in the United Kingdom that claims to provide its clients with over 1,000+ tradable financial instruments with leverage capped at 1:500 and variable spreads from 0.0 pips on the leading MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5 trading platforms, as well as a choice of three different live account types.

As for regulation, it has been verified that MultibankFX has four different licenses, but they are all suspicious clone, that is why its regulatory status on WikiFX is listed as “Suspected Fake Clone” and it receives a relatively low score of 1.42/10. Please be aware of the risk.

Field Survey

The investigators went to London, UK, to visit the foreign exchange dealer MultibankFX as planned. However, they did not find the dealers office at the publicly displayed address. The dealer may just borrow the address to register the company without a real business place. Investors are advised to choose the dealer carefully.

Market Instruments

MultibankFX advertises that it offers access to more than 1,000 trading instruments in financial markets, including forex pairs and CFDs on indices, commodities, precious metals and shares.

Account Types

MultibankFX claims to offer three types of trading accounts, namely Maximus, MultiBank Pro and ECN Pro. The minimum initial deposit amount is $50 for the Maximus account, while the other two account types have much higher minimum initial capital requirements of $1,000 and $5,000 respectively.

Leverage

The leverage offered by MultibankFX is capped at 1:500, which is much higher than that provided by most brokers. It is important to keep in mind that the greater the leverage, the greater the risk of losing your deposited capital. The use of leverage can both work in your favour and against you.

Spreads

MultibankFX claims that different account types can enjoy quite different spreads. Specifically, the spread on the Maximus account starts from 1.4 pips, the MultiBank Pro account has spread from 0.8 pips, while only the ECN Pro account holders can enjoy raw spreads from 0.0 pips. These spreads are all below the industry average of 1.5 pips.

Trading Platform Available

Platforms available for trading at MultibankFX are said to be the industry-standard MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5. In any case, we recommend using MT4 or MT5 for your trading platform. Forex traders praise MetaTrader's stability and trustworthiness as the most popular forex trading platform. Expert Advisors, Algo trading, Complex indicators, and Strategy testers are some of the sophisticated trading tools available on this platform. There are currently 10,000+ trading apps available on the Metatrader marketplace that traders can use to improve their performance. By using the right mobile terminals, including iOS and Android devices, you can trade from anywhere and at any time through MT4 and MT5.

Deposit & Withdrawal

MultibankFX says to accept payments with credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, bank wire, Neteller and Skrill. The minimum initial deposit requirement is said to be only $50.

Bonuses & Fees

MultibankFX claims to offer all kinds of bonuses, covering the 100% bonus, the 20% bonus, Imperial bonus and Refer a Friend bonus. Just take the 20% bonus as an example: the minimum deposit required for it is $1,000. Clients who wish to withdraw $200 of their bonus must trade 80 lots for every $200 they wish to withdraw. Additionally, clients must complete the trading requirements within 90 days of receiving the bonus. Clients who fail to meet the deadline will only receive a percentage of the bonus.

In any case, you should be very cautious if you receive a bonus. First of all, bonuses aren't client funds, they're company funds, and fulfilling the heavy requirements that are usually attached to them can prove a very daunting and difficult task. Remember that brokers who are regulated and legitimate do not offer bonuses to their clients.

Also, the broker also charges an inactivity fee. If a trading account stays inactive for 3 months, a monthly fee of $60 will be charged. However, other licensed brokers give a grace period of 6 months or even 1 year.

Customer Support

MultibankFX‘s customer support can be reached by telephone: +44 203 953 8381 (English), +62 02129264151 (Indonesian), +351 304 500 657 (Portuguese), +400 120 8619 (Chinese), +49 69 257377474 (German), +1 833 291 1788 (French), +7 499 609 46 73 (Russian), +34 931 220 671 (Spanish), +84 28 44581652 (Vietnamese), email: cs@multibankfx.com, cncs@multibankfx.com, cs.mys@multibankfx.com. You can also follow this broker on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. However, this broker doesn’t disclose other more direct contact information like the company address that most brokers offer.

Risk Warning

Online trading involves a significant level of risk and you may lose all of your invested capital. It is not suitable for all traders or investors. Please ensure that you understand the risks involved and note that the information contained in this article is for general information purposes only.