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first direct: Current Account reviews

4.73
Based on 1,451 reviews, last reviewed 25th Mar 2026
8700% increase in 5 star reviews
in the past 90 days
100% decrease in 1 star reviews
in the past 90 days
See only 5 star reviews
85%
See only 4 star reviews
9%
See only 3 star reviews
2%
See only 2 star reviews
1%
See only 1 star reviews
3%

Latest highest rating:

5

Great online banking. Great online banking. Very easy to set up. Reviewed on: 25th March 2026
Alan's avatar
Alan

Latest lowest rating:

1

I have been a customer of First Direct for 34 years... I have been a customer of First Direct for 34 years so I know this bank very well For 33 years I often recommended it to friends but this past year th... Read more Reviewed on: 29th October 2025
Martin S's avatar
Martin S

About this product

The first direct 1st Account is a current account that can be opened in minutes.

If you’re eligible, you can get an interest free overdraft of £250. You won’t be charged debit card fees when spending abroad. If approved for an account, you’ll get a virtual card you can use straight away.

first direct 1st Account reviews help you find out what it’s really like to be a customer. If you’ve used first direct before, you can also leave a review and share your experience.

first direct Current Account reviews (1451)

Review of the first direct, Current Account:

Quick Service

4
Fast response to any issues and helpful at sorting things out quickly. Reviewed on: 25th May 2024

Love my bank

5
After a bad experience with another bank where customer service declined over a number of years I have found this bank to be amazing. Telephone or online. Reviewed on: 30th April 2020

best phone operatives ever

5
great access across lots of banking platforms. Easy to navigate between different areas on the site. High level of security for on-line option. Friendliest most efficient call-centre ever. Reviewed on: 28th April 2020

Excellent customer service

5
Very good customer service 24 hours a day. Easy to move money around and check account with excellent ap. Reviewed on: 27th April 2020

easy to use

4
i find their online banking very easy to use and means in dont have to contact them very often Reviewed on: 27th April 2020

Fantastic

5
Amazing customer service, can always get through promptly if theres a problem. So glad I switched Reviewed on: 27th April 2020

First Direct Brilliant

5
First class service. easy to use account. Can always speak to a person quickly if needed. Reviewed on: 27th April 2020

Always there

5
In an age when customer service seems to be getting brushed under the carpet by most companies First Direct still stands out as the yardstick by which others should measure themselves. Every time you ring them they are always prompt to answer, pleasant to talk to and helpful. Even when your query is not relevant to their department they always know where to transfer you to immediately whereas my experience with other companies is usually one of the operative struggling blindly to know who deals with the query or blithely transferring to a department that invariably turns out to be the wrong one. So well done First Direct. Reviewed on: 27th April 2020

Not for small business owners

1
Was recommended to move to First Direct but it's been a really poor experience. it took 6 weeks to get a letter from them and, as a small business owner, they demanded to see the full and signed copies of the last three years' accounts. We're in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis so that demand was not only over the top but a really big ask - I can only assume they thought I'm skint as I run a small business. If you are a business owner / director avoid. Reviewed on: 22nd April 2020

Dreadful!

1
Their new security processes are a complete nightmare to use. Even if you can navigate your way through the complex process of transferring funds from one account to another, they WILL stop the transfer and not inform you. Just spent the last 40 minutes trying to get a payment sent and this is the second time this week. Enough is enough! Reviewed on: 27th February 2020

No help in time of crisis

1
I was recently the victim of a scam in which I made a number of card payments and bank transfers totalling some £15,000 to a rogue company without getting anything in return. First Direct is signed up to an inter-bank code of practice for protecting and compensating victims of fraud which “includes detecting high-risk payments, identifying vulnerable customers, and delaying or freezing payments that might be part of a scam . . . the bank will be required to refund the customer’s losses from a communal fund, even if it did nothing wrong”. Despite being a customer for some 30 years, First Direct refused to give me any compensation, under either the Visa card guarantee or the code of practice and did nothing, either under the code or otherwise, to mitigate my losses. I am now having to complain to the Financial Ombudsman. It’s said that in times of crisis you find out who your friends are, and First Direct has proved to be no friend of mine! I can therefore no longer recommend First Direct to potential new customers - you would be better going to other banks which (like TSB, for example) have more comprehensive fraud protection policies anyway. Reviewed on: 24th February 2020

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