I have spent the past year sampling most of the banks, largely to get the switching money most of them have offered.

NatWest paid £200, and I think it should have been more because the experience is so horrible.

I opened an account with Starling just to 'switch' it to another bank, but it turned out to be so good that it's been my main account since then. They also do business accounts, but unfortunately for here, not only do they have a low limit on cash payments in, they also don't want any business accounts associated with - amongst other things like antique sales - "dating or escort services" and "pornography or adult entertainment".

I know freelancers and sole traders who like Tide - they charge 0.5% for cash payments in via a Post Office - but I don't know how fussy they are around what your trade is.

The inevitable happened to me a few weeks ago when trying to pay into my usual  First Direct personal account at the PO and the screen said 'payment declined'. The PO worker seemed baffled and kept trying but it kept saying same so I'm guessing it's because I'd exceeded 24K cash in this year.

It did however accept payments into my back up First Direct personal account and has continued to do so ever since. So far so good, same bank, but I really must set myself up with another bank  as well - not linked to HSBC -  just in case.

Some POs now have a sign on the counter advising bank limits to tackle money laundering may mean cash deposits are declined. I'm guessing the POs have had a few issues and questions from people paying in.

Is there an account that would let me pay in cash at the post office? That would be convenient.

They really are trying to kill cash at this point in time - Barclays has now said that the limit is 20K a year from July.



Cash deposit limits

From 1 July 2024, we’re introducing an annual limit of £20,000 to the amount of cash you can pay into your personal accounts. This limit will reset in January of each following year.

Even if you have more than one personal account with us, the total amount of cash you can pay in across all of them is still £20,000.

This limit includes any children’s savings accounts you have with us, but doesn’t include cash you’ve paid into any business accounts. You can also receive payments and cheques using your app or Online Banking.