With over 100,000 customers throughout the UK, thinkmoney is helping people manage their finances, get back on their feet, and improve their credit rating. A thinkmoney current account budgets for your bills and expenses to prevent you from overspending and helps ensure your bills are paid on time each month, leaving the rest of your money free for you to spend.


What is a thinkmoney account?

A thinkmoney account is aimed towards, well, everyone. Current accounts are available to all UK residents over the age of 18, no matter what their credit rating or financial situation may be.

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Customers looking to improve their credit rating will enjoy thinkmoney’s budgeting tools, which automatically keeps your bill money separate from the rest of your money to prevent you from spending it and to help ensure that you pay your bills on time. With thinkmoney, you can manage your money better, save for the future, and improve your credit rating.

Reviews

The reviews for thinkmoney are mostly positive, with customers praising it for helping improve their financial wellbeing.

"Absolutely brilliant. Love the budgeting option which reserves money for bills when wages come in. Advisors are really good as well. Would recommend to people."

Review site Trustpilot, gives thinkmoney a score of 4.3 / 5 which is based on reviews from customers of the bank. 72% of customers rate it as good or excellent, and 24% rate it as poor or bad.

"Overall thinkmoney offer a fair service but appear to have problems with their technology. I am currently trying to use my card online only to find there have been problems for 3 days plus. Whilst an apology is appreciated this doesn’t solve the problems."

The Fairbanking Foundation awarded the thinkmoney current account 4 out of 5 stars because of its features that help customers manage their money better.

Customers of thinkmoney appear to enjoy the advantages of having an account that helps with their budgeting, while negative reviews mention technical issues with its mobile banking app. Although it can be very inconvenient when you cannot access your account when you need to, thinkmoney has addressed these issues by rolling out updates to its app in recent months.

Is thinkmoney safe?

Yes, absolutely. As thinkmoney is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an e-Money Institution, your money is protected and, unlike the FSCS, this protection is not limited to a certain amount. This means that your money is held separately and securely and, if something were to happen to thinkmoney, you would always receive it back.

thinkmoney issues chip and pin debit cards with its current accounts, which provides extra security when shopping in-store. For online shopping, it uses MasterCard Identity Check, which requires you to confirm any online transactions by entering a One Time Passcode which thinkmoney will either text or email you. You will need to enter this passcode on the website you are shopping on before it can authorise your payment.


thinkmoney Features and Benefits

A wallet containing money

thinkmoney offers a no-frills approach to banking, as its main aim is to help people improve their credit rating. A thinkmoney current account includes benefits such as:

  • Help with your budgeting.
  • No fees for bounced direct debits.
  • A UK-based customer service team.
  • The potential for your credit score to go up.

Prepaid Debit MasterCard

All thinkmoney current accounts come with a contactless MasterCard debit card, which you can use anywhere in the world to spend in-store, online, or withdraw cash from an ATM wherever you see the MasterCard acceptance mark.

Is thinkmoney compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay?Unfortunately, this feature isn’t available just yet. However, thinkmoney has confirmed that this is something it is working on.

Budgeting

The main selling feature of a thinkmoney current account is how it handles your bill payments. With thinkmoney, the money needed to cover your monthly bills, such as utilities, mobile phone, and rent is held aside so that you can’t spend it, helping ensure you pay your bills on time, thus improving your credit score.

When you open a thinkmoney current account, it will ask you for information on your income and expenses. It then works out what it needs to set aside for your bills and puts the rest of your salary or benefits onto your debit card which you are then free to spend.

You can view your thinkmoney budget up to three months into the future to see how your money will be split between bills. You can adjust your budget at any time within the thinkmoney app or online banking if, for example, you no longer need to pay a certain bill or the amount you need to pay changes.

Keeping customers’ bill money separate is a clever feature that many people will find useful, especially those who struggle to keep up with bill payments. It will go a long way in helping people improve their credit rating by ensuring their bills are paid on time each month.


The thinkmoney current account

Unlike some banks out there, thinkmoney offers just the one current account, which is available as a single or joint account.

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Fees

The main concept behind thinkmoney is to help people improve their finances. Therefore, it charges no fees for declined direct debits, withdrawing cash, or paying with your card in the UK.

To cover the costs of the services it provides, such as its budgeting tools, thinkmoney charges a monthly fee of £10 for individual accounts or £15 for a joint account, which it deducts from your account automatically each month.

Individual account

With the thinkmoney current account, you can have your salary, benefits, or other income paid directly into it, and have all of your bills come out via direct debit or standing order.

Every thinkmoney current account comes with:

  • A contactless MasterCard debit card
  • An account number and sort code
  • Online banking
  • thinkmoney app

Compare the best bank accountsStill unsure if thinkmoney is the right bank for you? Then why not compare the best bank accounts to see what other options are available.


Joint account

A thinkmoney joint account operates in the same way as a regular current account; both account holders receive a debit card and have access to the account to have their money paid in and bills paid out.

Both account holders have full control over a joint account including the money held in it, so it is advisable to only open a joint account with someone that you know and trust.


How to open a thinkmoney account

It is straightforward to open a thinkmoney current account and its website claims it should only take a few minutes to complete the application.

Who can open an account?

To open an account with thinkmoney, you will need to be:

  • Over the age of 18
  • Living in the UK for 6 months of the year

Does thinkmoney do credit checks?No, it does not. thinkmoney aims to provide a bank account for everyone, and so it does not carry out any credit checks to open an account. The only time you may need to have a credit check with thinkmoney is if you apply for a credit card or loan.

What is the application process?

You can apply for a thinkmoney account on the thinkmoney website. As part of the application process, you will need to provide some personal details, such as:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Address
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If thinkmoney can verify you with the details you provide, then it will process your application and send you your account information, debit card, and PIN.

Sometimes, thinkmoney may not be able to identify you. If this is the case, then you will need to provide it with proof of your ID by sending it through the post. If you need to send any sensitive ID such as a passport or driving licence, then thinkmoney will send you a Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope to use, which will keep your documents safe. It will also return your ID back to you via Special Delivery within 1 working day.

Current Account Switch Service

If you want to switch to thinkmoney from your existing bank or building society, then you can do so using the Current Account Switch Guarantee.

When you apply for an account, you will need to let thinkmoney know that you wish to use the switch service. thinkmoney will then look after getting everything moved over from your current bank or building society.

A laptop displaying an image of a bank building

The Current Account Switch Service will transfer the following from your old account to your new thinkmoney account:

  • Your existing balance.
  • Your incoming payments, such as your salary.
  • Your outgoing payments, such as your direct debits and standing orders.

The Current Account Switch Guarantee takes up to seven days to complete. Once you have applied for and opened your new account, you can choose the switch date to suit you. The date of you switch must be at least seven working days from this point.

Any payments, direct debits, or standing orders requested through your old bank after it has completed the switch will be redirected automatically to your new account and it will inform the sender of your new bank details.


Accessing your thinkmoney account

Once you are up and running with thinkmoney, you will need to access your account. Fortunately, thinkmoney provides you with a few ways to do this.

The thinkmoney app

If you have an iOS or Android phone, then you can download the thinkmoney app for free from the App Store or Google Play Store where it is rated 2.7 / 5 and 3.5 / 5 respectively.

The thinkmoney app is not rated as high as many other mobile banking apps. However, many of the low scores were left prior to thinkmoney redesigning its app. Since it released its new app, it has received many positive reviews praising the changes and the new app design and layout.

In 2019, thinkmoney was the recipient of a Banking Technology Award for “Best Use of IT in Retail Banking.”

 

With the thinkmoney app, you can:

  • Send money.
  • See your recent transactions.
  • View, edit or cancel direct debits and standing orders.
  • Lock your card if you lose it.
  • Set up and manage your budget.
  • View your account information.

Online banking

If you don’t have your smartphone to hand, or if you prefer to access your account from a computer, then you can access your account through internet banking. You will first need to register for online banking using your thinkmoney account details.

Find out how to get registered and log in to thinkmoney online banking (Coming soon)

Telephone banking

If you need additional help and support, you also have the option of calling thinkmoney.

Find the best way to contact thinkmoney, and view its opening hours.

Branches

There are no thinkmoney branches available. However, thinkmoney customers can visit any of the 11,000 Post Office branches in the UK to pay in cash and cheques and withdraw money. The Post Office cannot provide you with account-specific enquiries, and instead, you should call thinkmoney.

Using your thinkmoney account

Once you have opened your thinkmoney account and your debit card has arrived, you are ready to use it. You will first need to set up your budget by entering all of your expected income and expenses into the thinkmoney app or online banking so that it can separate your money into bills and spending.

Direct debits and standing orders

Mobile phone showing money being transfered

If you used the Current Account Switch Guarantee when you opened your account, then your direct debits will be moved over for you. If not, not to worry, you can set them up yourself.

To set up a new direct debit, you will need to contact the company or organisation you need to pay and provide them with your thinkmoney bank details. You will need to let them know your

  • Account number, and
  • Sort code

You will also need to add the direct debit to your thinkmoney budget so that it keeps the money to one side along with your other direct debits and bill payments.

To set up a new standing order, you will need to use the thinkmoney app or online banking. You will need the details of the company, organisation, or person you wish to pay, including their:

  • Account number
  • Sort code
  • Reference number
  • Payment due date
  • Payment frequency

You can view, edit, or cancel direct debits and standing orders from the thinkmoney app and online banking.

UK payments and withdrawals

You can use your thinkmoney current account anywhere in the UK that accepts MasterCard to:

  • Pay in stores
  • Withdraw cash at ATMs

There are no fees for using your card in the UK. The only exception to this is if the ATM you are using charges a fee.

You can also withdraw cash from any Post Office branch for free.

International payments and withdrawals

You can use your thinkmoney account outside of the UK. However, there are a few fees to take into consideration plus the exchange rate.

Service Fee
Card payment in a foreign currency 2% of the transaction
ATM withdrawal outside the UK 2% of the transaction

Money transfers

You can send money to friends and family anywhere in the world. To transfer money, you will need the bank account details of the person you wish to pay, and you can then arrange the bank transfer via the thinkmoney app or online banking.

Service Fee
Sending money within the UK Free
Sending money outside the UK (Standard) £15
Sending money outside the UK (Express) £20
Payment sent outside the UK with incorrect information £25
Third party requests for further information on a payment sent outside of the UK £25

Banks outside of the UK don’t always use account numbers and sort codes as we do in the UK. Europe, for example, uses IBANs which are up to 34 characters long, so be sure to check you are asking for the right information from the person you wish to send money to.

How do I contact thinkmoney?

If you need to contact thinkmoney, you should first head to the thinkmoney website and check out the FAQ section, which answers the most common questions and queries. If you need to discuss your account or have a question that it doesn’t answer on the website, then you should call thinkmoney customer services.

thinkmoney Customer Services Contact Information
Phone 0161 779 5000 / +44 161 779 5000
Mon - Thurs 8am - 8pm
Fri 8am - 6:30pm
Sat 8am - 4:30pm
Email [email protected]
Address thinkmoney
Think Park
Mosley Road, Trafford Park
Manchester
M17 1FQ
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