Co-operative Bank

The Co-operative Bank is a UK bank best known for its current accounts, its fee-free basic bank account for people with a poor credit record, and the smile online banking brand. It offers current accounts, savings, ISAs and mortgages, and since January 2025 it has been part of Coventry Building Society, alongside the Platform and Britannia names¹. Its accounts are held with the Co-operative Bank itself, one of the UK's deposit-taking banks².

For everyday banking, the bank's current accounts work like any other: you can receive wages and benefits, spend with a debit card, withdraw cash, set up Direct Debits and standing orders, and manage the account online, by app or by phone³. Its charges for standard services are set out in the Account Charges Leaflet that applies to your account, and everyday services such as Faster Payments are listed as free up to set thresholds¹. The bank also runs one of the nine fee-free basic bank accounts that the largest UK banks are required to offer⁴.

Current accounts and what each one offers

A Co-operative Bank current account does the core jobs most people need from a bank account: receiving wages and benefits, paying for things in shops, withdrawing cash, and running regular payments such as Direct Debits and standing orders³. Current accounts of this kind usually come with a debit card and the option of an overdraft, and the bank's accounts can be managed online, through its mobile app, by phone or in a branch⁸.

The bank's charging structure is set out in its Account Charges Leaflet, which is the document that governs the interest and charges on each account and its related services⁹. Standard day-to-day services are free: the bank's published charges information lists Faster Payments as free up to £100,000, a list of your standing orders and Direct Debits as free, and receiving money from outside the UK as free for payments up to the equivalent of £100, with larger payments in euro or Swedish krona also free¹. Fees apply to some optional services instead: a banker's cheque, for example, carries a fee and is not available on the Cashminder basic account¹.

Payments in euro to EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Monaco and Switzerland are free under the SEPA scheme¹. One service the bank does not offer at all is depositing foreign cheques, which its charges information lists as unavailable¹. If you are comparing current accounts generally, the options and how switching works are covered in our guide to current accounts.

Basic bank account: open to people with any credit record

The Co-operative Bank offers a fee-free basic bank account, and it is one of the nine institutions designated under the rules to provide one⁴. A basic bank account is a transactional bank account that is fee-free for standard operations: you can receive money, pay bills and withdraw cash, but there is no overdraft and no cheque book¹⁰. The bank's own version is called Cashminder¹.

The point of a basic bank account is that it is open to people who might not qualify for a standard account. You could apply if you have a low income or a poor credit history and think you might have trouble opening a bank account¹¹, and if you are bankrupt or have a poor credit rating you may still be able to open one¹². The nine largest banks and building societies, including the Co-operative Bank, have agreed to offer these accounts with no monthly fees to people who have no account, want to change provider, or are in financial difficulty and want a new functional account¹³. A parliamentary committee has even recommended that it should be a right for customers to open a basic bank account irrespective of their financial circumstances¹⁴.

A few conditions apply. Basic bank accounts are not available to businesses, though charities can find help through UK Finance's guide¹⁵. You can open one jointly with someone you trust, if you both qualify¹⁰. Firms that offer basic bank accounts have to give eligible customers certain information about them¹⁶. If a basic account is not right for you, the alternatives include a credit union current account, which may have a monthly fee, or a prepaid card account¹⁰.

How overdraft charges work on Co-operative Bank accounts

Overdrafts on Co-operative Bank accounts are repayable on demand, which means the bank can ask you to repay the overdraft at any time⁹. Interest and charges on each account are set out in the Account Charges Leaflet relevant to that account, so the figures that apply to you depend on which account you hold⁹.

The key protection is a cap on charges for going overdrawn without permission. The bank's terms state that the monthly cap on unarranged overdraft charges for its current accounts is £60 per charging period⁹. That cap matters because unarranged overdrafts are expensive generally: going overdrawn without agreement can bring a penalty charge and a high rate of interest, charges for reminder letters, and charges for Direct Debits or cheques put through the account, and the bank may freeze the account until the overdraft is paid off¹⁷. Using an overdraft at all means the bank is likely to start charging interest on the account¹⁸.

If you are regularly using an unarranged overdraft, that is usually a sign of debt problems rather than a banking convenience, and free help is available from StepChange and other charities¹⁸. Our guide to current accounts explains how overdrafts compare across the market.

Savings, ISAs and mortgages

Alongside its current accounts, the Co-operative Bank takes savings deposits, offers ISAs and lends for mortgages². In practice that means the bank offers savings accounts and ISAs alongside its current accounts, and mortgages through its Platform brand.

Savings with the bank work like savings anywhere else: money held in a savings account or ISA is a deposit with the bank, and it counts towards the same FSCS protection as your current account money, because it is all held with the same firm⁶. The general picture of how savings accounts and ISAs work, and how they differ, is in our guides to savings accounts and ISAs.

On mortgages, Platform is the bank's mortgage lending brand and appears on the official list of lenders using HM Land Registry's Sign your mortgage deed service¹⁹. Coventry Building Society, the bank's owner since January 2025, is a signatory to the Mortgage Charter, which sets out support for borrowers struggling with their mortgage²⁰. If you cannot pay off an interest-only mortgage as its term ends, options exist and the Financial Ombudsman Service can be reached on 0800 023 4567 if a complaint about the lender is unresolved²¹. How mortgages work generally is covered in our mortgages and home buying guides.

smile, Platform and the other Co-operative Bank brands

The names you may come across under the Co-operative Bank are smile, Smile Invest, Platform and Britannia². smile is the bank's online banking brand, and the bank's own product pages state plainly that smile is part of The Co-operative Bank p.l.c.¹. That matters for protection: a smile account is not a separate bank, and money in it counts together with Co-operative Bank money towards one FSCS limit⁶.

Platform is the bank's mortgage lending name¹⁹. Britannia is the former building society name that still appears alongside the bank's other brands², and it has its own page at Britannia. The bank's terms use "we" and "us" to cover both its Co-operative Bank and smile brands for certain purposes, though those terms do not apply to club, charity or business accounts⁹.

Moving to Coventry Building Society: what changes for customers

The Co-operative Bank was acquired by Coventry Building Society in January 2025⁷. The Coventry's own materials now describe the group as Coventry Building Society, including the Co-operative Bank, Platform and Britannia²⁰.

For an existing customer, the practical changes so far are limited. Your accounts, terms and contact routes continue as before, and the brands you know have kept their names². What the acquisition does change is the group behind them: the Coventry is a building society rather than a bank, and the sector as a whole has been growing as consumers seek better value⁷. If the brands are merged or renamed in future, the important thing to watch is whether the way your FSCS protection is grouped changes, as explained at the end of this page.

Banking with Co-operative Bank: app, online, phone and branches

Most banks, including the Co-operative Bank, have their own smartphone and tablet apps: once you have set up online banking, you can download the app from the Google Play Store for Android or the App Store for Apple devices and use it to check your balance and make payments²². The bank's online and app banking is the main way most customers manage their accounts day to day.

Phone banking matters more here than at some banks, because the Co-operative Bank's branch network is small and shrinking. The bank's terms give specific numbers for specific jobs: call 0345 600 6000 as soon as possible to report a lost, stolen or damaged debit card or cheque book, and call 03457 212 212 for anything to do with sending money outside the UK over £10,000⁹. One gap worth knowing: independent testing by Which? found that the Co-operative Bank is a notable exception among banks that let you freeze a card in the app if it is lost or stolen, though the bank told Which? this feature is in the works²³.

The bank's cash access arrangements have been reviewed for Great Britain only²⁴. Cash paid in at a branch or the Post Office during opening hours is credited to your account, but cash paid in after 4.30pm may not be counted and added until the next day⁹. There is a daily limit on the amount of cash you can take out from a cash machine or at a branch, with the current limits shown on the bank's website⁹.

Branch closures and access to cash

The Co-operative Bank has three branch closures scheduled in 2026, according to Which?'s tracking of bank branch closures²⁵. That continues a long contraction: the bank's network is now a fraction of its former size, and for most customers the app, online banking and phone banking are the everyday reality.

When a branch closes, there are rules about what must happen. Guidance for firms on branch and ATM closures requires them to give increased clarity and accessibility of information on proposed closures, including making information available to stakeholders other than existing personal and business users of the branch²⁶. The government's Cash Access Policy Statement, which covers relevant personal and business current accounts across the UK, is designed to make sure people and businesses can still withdraw and deposit cash²⁷.

If a closure leaves a gap in local cash access, LINK runs access to cash reviews when banks plan closures or if local residents ask for a review, and these can result in new ATMs or banking hubs being installed²⁸. If your branch is closing and you rely on cash or counter services, it is worth checking whether a review has been triggered for your area.

Help with money worries, financial abuse and scams

If you are struggling with money, the bank's terms and its published support routes are one place to start, but free independent help is available whatever bank you use. Citizens Advice offers free advice on debt and other money problems²⁹, and MoneyHelper provides free and impartial money and pensions guidance³⁰. StepChange offers free debt advice, including on overdraft debt and on what happens to bank accounts after bankruptcy¹⁸.

For people affected by scams, MoneyHelper offers free, non-judgemental, confidential support from an expert you can talk to³¹. The FSCS advises anyone who has been scammed to speak to their bank, building society or credit union, because banks can protect and reimburse victims of certain types of fraud, and to report the scam to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk³².

Two things are worth knowing about the Co-operative Bank specifically on security. Which? testing found the bank does not yet let you freeze your card in the app²³, so a lost card means a phone call rather than a tap. And the bank was, as of Which?'s reporting in late 2022, yet to join the SMS SenderID Protection Registry, a scheme that helps prevent scammers sending text messages that appear to come from a bank's name, along with several other big brands³³. Our guide to scams and fraud explains the common threats and how to avoid them.

If money worries are tied to benefits or budgeting, MoneyHelper also has guidance on choosing a bank account for benefit payments such as Universal Credit³, and on making your money easier to manage yourself if illness or disability makes banking harder¹¹.

Complaints and the Financial Ombudsman Service

The Co-operative Bank's complaints route is set out in its terms: you can email complaints@co-operativebank.co.uk⁹. If you are still unhappy with the bank's response, its terms state that you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London E14 9SR, or telephone 0800 023 4567⁹.

The ombudsman is independent and free, and it can look at complaints from individual customers or customers who share a financial product or service, such as a shared bank account or joint mortgage³⁴. It also handles complaints involving the cost of living, where financial difficulty is at the heart of the dispute³⁵.

FSCS protection: one £120,000 limit across Co-operative Bank and smile

Money held with the Co-operative Bank is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. FSCS protects your money up to £120,000 for all banks, building societies and credit unions³⁶, and the Co-operative Bank appears on the Bank of England's list of UK deposit-taking banks³⁷.

The crucial point for this bank is that smile is not separate. Because smile is simply the Co-operative Bank's online brand¹, money in smile accounts and money in Co-operative Bank accounts is money with one firm, and the £120,000 limit is shared across all of it. FSCS explains that if accounts share one authorisation number they are classed as a single firm and the £120,000 limit is shared across both⁶. The same rule applies if you have an individual account and a joint account within the same banking group: the limit applies across all these accounts, not to each separate account³⁸. Banks sharing a banking licence share protection limits across all the accounts within that group³⁹.

A few edge cases catch people out. Sole traders with a business account and a personal account at the same bank get up to £120,000 in total, not two separate claims³⁹. Business partnerships are entitled to a single claim of £120,000, not one claim per partner³⁹. And in Scotland, as elsewhere, separate accounts that share one authorisation may be treated as being with the same bank, so the protected amount is applied only once⁴⁰. If you are unsure how your accounts are grouped, FSCS has a check on its website³⁸, and a page for when you cannot find your bank on its list³⁶.

If you go bankrupt, the position changes: a joint bank account will be frozen, and the bank may close it and refund half the money to the other person, or remove your name from the account; any money left in your account will be given to the official receiver⁴¹. Our guide to consumer protection sets out the wider safety net.