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Smile Bank: Current Account reviews

Name: Current Account
Rating: 3.87 (104 reviews)

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3.80

Based on 104 reviews, last reviewed 5th Apr 2025

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

No new 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

56%

19%

21%

Latest highest rating:

5

Secure Online portal . Online portal works perfectly, feels secure. Reviewed on: 5th April 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Failing to provide an adequate service have been a customer for almost 25 years, and service now seems to be at the worst level in all of that time. Anything more than a nominal payment wit... Read more Reviewed on: 19th March 2024

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About this product

Smile Bank is an ethical online bank. Its Current Account doesn’t charge a monthly fee and is available for individuals and as a joint account. Every Smile Current Account comes with a £500 overdraft. Applicants must be eligible for the overdraft to open the account.

Considering opening an account with Smile Bank? Find out what existing customers have to say first. Discover the ins and outs of the account by reading the Smile Current Account reviews on Smart Money People.

Find out more about the sign-up process for this online bank. Learn how long customers have had their accounts with Smile Bank and how satisfied they are with the Current Account. Find out the pros and cons of the account and what people think of the bank’s customer service team. Make an informed decision about your new account by reading our Smile Bank Current Account reviews.

If you have a Current Account with Smile Bank, take a moment to share your experience with others. Tell us how long you’ve had your account open and whether this is your main bank account. What is your favourite feature of the account and is there anything that you feel could be improved? Have you encountered any issues with the account, and if so, how well were they resolved? Would you recommend the account to your family and friends? Whether good or bad, write an honest Smile Bank Current Account review today. Together, we can help others like you make better financial decisions.

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Smile Bank Current Account reviews (104)

Excellent Personal Service

Really impressed with how Smile Bank deal on a personal level with their customers. It's a bank which makes you feel valued. Reviewed on: 13th January 2019

Good in theory

I liked the fairtrade element of this and that you could use the over the counter services at the Co-operative and Post Office but they keep closing the branches of the Co-operative near me and I hate the new website design Reviewed on: 8th December 2018

Decent and clear web site plus ethical policy

Ethical policy (as part of Co-op Bank) Faster payments Web site easy to use Reviewed on: 22nd November 2018

Great service

Always very smooth service. No problems at all Reviewed on: 9th November 2018

Have never had a reason to complain

have had a Smile bank account for over 10 years now and haven't ever had a reason to complain. I can use a Co-op bank to deposit cheques or cash and my banking is available 24/7 with the Smile App. Free £500 overdraft if I need it and Visa debit card that can be used anywhere. go on, give Smile a go!! Reviewed on: 9th November 2018

Customer-friendly bank

Smile's current account does all that it should. The online service is quick and easy to use. Whenever I have had to contact them via secure message, I have had a prompt response. Reviewed on: 8th November 2018

Very good communication

Once i went over my overdrawn limit. As this was something i did rarely they waited the fees Reviewed on: 8th November 2018

The joyless remnant of a formerly great bank

signed up to smile in 2002 when the bank was exceptional. Good rate of interest on savings, modest rate on credit cards and loans, a non-punitive approach to bank charges and never any reason to call customer service. A few years ago the overdraft facility was removed on one of my accounts in spite of it being the account that my wages were paid into. I recently had the overdraft facility reinstated (which took about half an hour on the phone ironically) as they had started hitting me with daily fines every time a direct debit caused me to be overdrawn even for a few hours, but I am still getting hit with "service charges" even when I am still in credit and I don't have anyone to speak to about this apart from the chatbot entities on the website. In addition to this their website login page fails from time to time which, given their recent restrictions on customer service, means there is sometimes no service at all. Nobody to talk to and no branch to visit. Smile fail to acknowledge that the withdrawal of telephone support has been a massively unpopular move with their long-standing customers. In the absence of any meaningful PR communications I have to conclude that smile is failing financially and is now gradually but deliberately driving people away from what must now be an unprofitable appendage of the Co-op Bank. Anyway, it's worked. They've abandoned everything that made them a great bank and now they're a joyless remnant resorting to service charges and minimal customer service. I was a happy customer in 2002 but there's no longer anything to smile about. Time to change banks. Reviewed on: 3rd July 2018

Disgraceful banking service

I’m likely to be taking my issues with smile to financial services ombudsman. Today, I contacted the number on my smile banking app about a disputed or fraudulent payment. The customer service operator refused to help, citing that I need to log my concern via livechat / webchat. I tried explaining that I don’t have easy access to undertake such process, I get easily anxious with unfamiliar websites. I also don’t find it easy to articulate myself in written form, I have dyslexia. It takes lots of preparation for me to form something in writing. I personally don’t feel confortable using webchat or live chat (as smile call it) When I tried explaining this over the phone to his manager he was dismissive and not prepared to take my learning difficulty into consideration. Im saying this as non-verbatim recollection of the call, but he suggested cause “him and his son are dyslexic then, I shouldn’t have any issues with using website” - I’m genuinely confused what relevance this had with me struggling to use the web chat facility. He was very dismissive of my problems and anxiety. I was questioned on my motives for opening an ‘internet’ bank which I’ve had open for many, many years. This manager refused to consider my condition and assist me any further over phone. Despite having a smile account for many years, I have never used this webchat facility. I simply wanted them to understand my condition and current position. I’m having to escalate this matter to the complaints procedure and then the ombudsman. I feel very upset and let down by smile and the coop bank - they preach ethical practice. However, my experience today is anything but ethical. I’m going to get some guidance on my recent experience with smile, on what I view as possible discrimation. I’m also interested in understanding my rights with accessing my data over the telephone, whenever I satisfy the identification process, this I’ll take up with the ICO. My advice - Its better to use a bank service that you can communicate over the telephone, especially if you are like me anxious with using an instant webchat service. Smile always offered telephone support for general queries and since they have taken that facility away. It’s a banking service is substandard. This use to be an amazing bank, with today’s experience, I will be looking to leave smile and coop for ethical reasons. I recommend anyone reading this review to avoid opening a bank account with the coop and smile. Just read at all the reviews and the disappointed customers, that should give you an indication this is a substandard bank that has lost its way. I still haven’t resolved my query relating to the disputed / or potentially fraudulent payments I hope coop / smile take some learnings from the customer dissatisfaction and improve its service. They need to deal with telephone banking enquiries when they arise and listen to people’s concerns without dismissing them out of hand. I was once very loyal to Smile and the Coop bank. I will instead be leaving them after today’s experience! Reviewed on: 13th June 2018

Many years of superb service.

I agree with all of the 'excellent' reviews here. I've enjoyed more than 15 years of first-rate service from this bank. To give but one example, a few years ago I wanted to transfer £2000 to another account, and did so easily online as always. But as I clicked 'Confirm', we had a power cut. When I logged on again the balance had not changed, so I re-sent the money. One day later I received a phone call from Smile telling me that TWO transfers had gone through and I was now overdrawn, but they perceived this as an oversight or error, and if I replaced the 'extra' £2000 within 36 hours, no action would be taken. Sure enough, the recipient bank now had £4000 extra deposits, so I refunded the money and that was that. Service like that is rare in this day and age, so I would recommend them to anyone. Reviewed on: 10th June 2018

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