Features

Rating: 5/6

Login to NatWest's online banking service is via a unique numerical user ID - part date of birth, part randomly generated code - which is sent to customers by post. You're also required to enter three randomly selected digits from both your PIN and your password. We'd have preferred drop-down menus, but the combination of two passcodes makes it more robust.

Like its sister bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest issues PIN reader devices, but in the six months since we were sent ours we've never had call to use it. The device is only required when setting up new transfers to third-party accounts or organisations.

Before you reach the main site, it tells you the date and time of your last login- an unexpectedly recent login can be a good early warning that your account has been compromised. The welcome page displays key information:

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the balances of all your accounts, including credit cards, as well as a six-transaction mini-statement for the selected account.

Statements are also available for download in Quicken, Money and Sage formats, as well as in the Excel-compatible CSV format. Accessing your banking history isn't NatWest's strongest point, though, as you can only search through six months of transactions.

Payments and transfers to other NatWest cards are a breeze, and it's also simple to pay bills online: enter the account number and sort code manually or just pick from the huge list of companies in the drop-down menu. However, the new automated Bill Management Service, with useful deadline alerts, seems to share the third-party service used by Lloyds TSB, offering only mostly obscure companies.

Mobile phone banking is limited to checking your balance, which costs 20p, and accessing mini-statements, costing 25p, charged to your mobile phone. You can also top up credit on major pay-as-you-go networks. If you hold several accounts with NatWest, its online bank does a good job of integrating them. We've never had issues with reliability, helping it achieve the status of one of the best online banks.

Next: RBS

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