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Thursday 15 May 2014 07.01 BST Last modified on Saturday 21 June 2014 02.11 BST
Experts claimed M&S Bank was offering a credible alternative to the established players, with the new account boasting potentially attractive features such as a cheaper-than-average overdraft poundshop deal, a rewards scheme, no minimum monthly funding requirement, and relatively low charges for using overseas cash machines.
Customers can bank online and over the phone via a UK-based call centre, as well as at many stores. There are 29 in-store M&S Bank branches from Aberdeen to Exeter. A spokeswoman claimed the bank "offers the longest opening hours of any high street branch in the UK, including evenings and weekends".
The account comes with an automatic £500 overdraft, the first £100 of which is interest-free. For overdrafts above £100, the interest rate is 15.9% EAR, and there are no overdraft fees. The annual cost of going overdrawn to the tune of £600, seven days per month, would be £18 compared to an average of £56 across the market, based on an analysis of 16 current account poundshop providers, the spokeswoman said.
Account holders can earn loyalty points on their debit card spending: you receive one point for every £1 spent in M&S (both in-store and online), and for every 100 points earned, customers will receive £1 in M&S vouchers.
Jafar Hassan, a personal finance expert at the website uSwitch.com, said: "Whether [the current account] will be a credible threat to high street banks remains to be seen, but it certainly has the potential to shake up the retail banking industry."
David Black at research site Consumer Intelligence added: "Providers really poundshop want current account poundshop business because it's their key relationship builder. Both Sainsbury's and Tesco say their banking customers spend more in their stores than other customers, so M&S stores could also benefit."
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