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Too much month left at the end of your money?
You can compare our overdrafts with other ways of borrowing by looking at the Annual Percentage Rate (APR). APR is the cost of borrowing over a year and lets you compare the costs with other credit products.
Here are some examples of how much it would cost if you borrowed £500 of your overdraft:
| Account | 7 days | 30 days | 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account1st Account | 7 days£1.63 | 30 days£7.00 | 60 days£13.99 |
1st Account linked to offset mortgage - Balance charged at your mortgage rate.
Representative example
0% EAR variable on the first £250. 39.9% EAR variable on anything above that, giving a representative rate of 30.5% APR variable (based on an assumed arranged overdraft £1,200).
The representative example shows you the rate of interest we’d charge for arranged overdrafts. For 1st Account, this example shows the cost of any interest above the interest free limit.
An overdraft can be used to borrow money on your current account and can help in months where there are unplanned events. Overdrafts are not suitable for long term borrowing and will typically result in you being charged interest.
An arranged overdraft is where we agree an overdraft limit with you. You can apply for an arranged overdraft up to £500 online, if you’d like a higher limit just give us a call when your 1st Account is open. We share information about how you use your account with credit reference agencies.
An unarranged overdraft is when you authorise a payment that would take your account overdrawn or beyond your arranged limit without agreeing in advance an overdraft to cover it. We’ll always consider an unarranged request and will make the payment if we can, subject to status. An unarranged overdraft may result in declined transactions. If you are in your unarranged overdraft for greater than 30 days this could have an impact on your credit file.
Use our Eligibility Checker and Cost Calculator (below) to find out more about our overdraft service before applying for or changing an arranged overdraft.
You have 14 days to cancel an overdraft agreement beginning on the day we provide the overdraft or on the day you have received our letter, whichever is later.
You can also ask us to reduce or remove your arranged overdraft limit at any time by calling us on 03 456 100 199. You’ll have to repay any overdrawn amount plus any interest for the period you’ve had it.
The figures in this tool are to give you a good indication, any overdraft limit you require will need to be agreed with us.
Our calculator uses a few assumptions to calculate the results. You can see these in detail at the bottom of the page.
Because an overdraft is for short term borrowing there could be other, cheaper options. You can call us on 03 456 100 199 if you'd like more information.
You can use our Eligibility Checker to get an indication of whether or not you'll be accepted for an overdraft.
We may charge overdraft interest for using any unarranged overdraft capacity. However, we will never charge more than £20 in unarranged overdraft interest in a charging month. You can find out more on our overdraft fees page.
We'll give you a chance to get back into your limit before we charge you (until 11.45pm on the day you go into an unarranged overdraft). Unless you opt out, if we hold a valid UK mobile number for you, we'll send you a text message to alert you if you go into your unarranged overdraft
The monthly cap on unarranged overdraft charges for your 1st Account is £20.
Monthly cap on unarranged overdraft charges
1. Each current account will set a monthly maximum charge for:
(a) going overdrawn when you have not arranged an overdraft; or
(b) going over/past your arranged overdraft limit (if you have one).
2. This cap covers any:
(a) interest and fees for going over/past your arranged overdraft limit;
(b) fees for each payment your bank allows despite lack of funds; and
(c) fees for each payment your bank refuses due to lack of funds.
If your account is linked to an Offset Mortgage, interest on your overdraft balance will be charged at your mortgage rate. Visit our charges page for more information about overdraft fees.
You'll only be charged interest on any arranged balance if you're overdrawn by more than £250.
Don’t worry we won’t use text speak – and definitely no emoji's.
On 17 November 2019 we introduced new arranged overdraft text alerts. If you haven’t opted out of these alerts and we hold a UK mobile number for you, we’ll text to let you know if you’re using or are about to use your overdraft. We’ll also let you know the following day if you’ll be charged overdraft interest.
In addition, we also send you text alerts if your account balance goes over its arranged overdraft limit (an ‘unarranged’ overdraft).
The text alerts are sent to give you time to pay money (not a cheque) into your account before the end of the day - by 11.45pm. : If you do this you will avoid having to pay overdraft interest.
You can choose to opt out of receiving these alerts at any time by sending a secure message via Online Banking or calling us on 03 456 100 199.
Opting out of alerts may mean you miss important information which can help you avoid costs. If you choose to opt out of text alerts, this will apply to all personal current accounts you hold with first direct.
Prior to July 2020, we operated a policy of not sending unarranged overdraft alerts late in the evenings and early mornings, even though we were required to do so from February 2018. We are writing to affected customers and refunding fees incurred for these overdrafts.
If you went into an arranged or unarranged overdraft late in the evening or early in the morning during this period, but had already received an overdraft alert earlier the same day, we may not be able to identify that you may be due a refund. If you think this has happened to you, please call us on 03 456 100 199 with as much information as you can about when this occurred, so we can investigate further. We think this may affect only around 100 customers.
You'll need to open a Current Account with us.
If you're over 18, a UK resident, haven't been declared bankrupt or registered for an Individual Voluntary Agreement in the last six years (or be in the process of doing so), and have a phone number and email address we can contact you with, we'd love to welcome you.
Talk to us about reviewing your overdraft facility. Give us a call on 03 456 100 100.