I've just recently moved to London from the US and was having a hell of a time getting settled in,…read moremost of which was caused by not being able to procure a UK bank account. It's a bit of a roundabout issue here where you can't get decent housing without a bank account and you can't get a bank account without decent housing. I had no idea that the credit check done on you is actually done on your place of residence and the credit attached there, not necessarily all just you. Very frustrating. At my wits end, and after going to several banks in and around Soho (and getting very rude and exasperated responses to my questions - as if I was doing something wrong by moving to London and not knowing my way around the financial system), I came across this HSBC in Chinatown. Bruce is my HERO. Not only was he completely accommodating to my mistake of thinking an appointment was way earlier than it actually was, he was very reassuring, informative, patient, kind, and most of all, funny. Thank you so much Bruce for easing my final transition into London life and helping me feel like a productive adult once again. You were the only one out of several bank employees in Soho that didn't treat me like an idiot and instead like a friend. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, and most of all, appreciate you alleviating all the stress from this last stage. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Pretty nice bank, I like their way of doing things which is very different from the traditional…read morehigh street banks. Also their debit card (which is a Debit MasterCard with PayPass) comes with no foreign currency fees within Europe. But be careful when using their ATMs with a foreign card for withdrawals. The Metro Bank ATM (operated by Note Machine) will offer debiting the account in your home currency. Do not accept this as an unfavourable exchange rate will be applied. Let your own bank do the currency conversion instead so have the transaction carried out in GBP (choose "Continue without conversion").

Have you ever wondered why every Metro Bank branch will have 3-15 employees but you still wait…read moreforever to get served? This branch is no exception. While 6 people were behind the counter, only 2 were helping customers. Very frustrating! Leyla only exacerbated the problem when, after one of the 8 people in line complained that no one was working, she decided the best use of time was to explain that "they ARE working" and point out what each employee was doing...instead of helping anyone. Needless to say, I promptly switched my bank to Nationwide (I have a referral code for a free £100, hit me up!) and have never looked back since!

This branch of Natwest is their St James & Piccadilly store, it is closer to the Fortum and Masons…read moreand Piccadilly Circus area of Piccadilly compared to the branch at the other end of the street. This store is a fairly small store, it is also located in an old building, therefore, it is up to a step to get in, with no disabled access. The opening hours aren't fantastic, basically between 9-5 during the week, opening an hour later on Wednesday's, with no weekend opening, it is a real shame the branch is shut on weekends being in such an important, central location. The branch inside felt pretty poor, it was definitely in need of some sort of refurb, it felt a little like the old Manchester Spring Gardens store before it was closed and relocated to their much more modern Market Street store. Definitely, in need of improvement, the staff also seemed unhelpful and a little ignorant so all in all, this is one of the worst branches of Natwest I visited during my recent time in London, alongside the Shepherds Bush location. 1*

Barclays Stockbrokers trading platform is an excellent tool that puts the trader in the driving…read moreseat with all the information, graphs and tools needed to trade frome. Unfortunately someone at Barclays made the grave mistake of taking Barclays Stockbrokers trading platform off line and forcing customers to trade from an amature app feature/web page they call "smart investor" which has nothing to do wit "smartness" as it times out if not touched and it is no substitute for the professional type Barclays Stockbrokers trading platform. Barclays have ignored repeated requests to re-launch Barclays Stockbrokers trading platform. Problem number 2: a "company" did a reverse-stock-split. Barclays failed miserably to get the stock back onto trading when the "company" resumed trading 4 days ago, and all other brokers are ahead of the game and are allowing customers to trade.

Barclays is the worst credit card company. If you charge anything on your credit card & the vendor…read moredoes not delivery the good or steals your money, Barclays does nothing. They always side with the vendor. Very unprofessional, useless company.

The branch closest to my work place. nothing fancy. a few machines to get money out or pay a…read morecheque. They also have a counter upstairs if you want to have that personal touch. The staff is nice, but not overenthusiastic, which is understandable ... they work in a bank. I never had an amazing service here, but never a really bad one either.

i was put on hold only to find that it was the wrong department i was put through to 5 members of…read morethe team before someone at last sorted it out for fraud , i never been with them ever i only just moved and i re-directid my mail lucky

Great services from Gwen, nice and friendly very efficient. Solve my problems almost immediately!read more

Neelam Joukani Khushiram was such an amazing help to me when I was at HSBC Oxford Circus! I was…read morehaving a lot of trouble ope my account and she helped me open one in less than an hour it was just like magic! she definitely knows what she is doing and she is the sweetest

When I saw the queue at the branch up the street (on the corner next to Westminster Cathedral), I…read moredecided that my deposit could wait. Walking back to the office, I was pleased to spot the familiar blue logo out of the corner of my eye. No queue here! A couple of cashpoints ("ATM's" to Americans) inside and one outside, plus a handful of business and personal banking teller windows. My deposit was quick and efficient and done in a flash. When I need banking, I'll be back to this branch again! The only downside is that the tellers here are behind a serious amount of glass. It did not give me a very warm and fuzzy feeling and I was very glad to be back on my way with my cash in my account!

It's a bank, so you'd think not too much to say, you go and draw money and that's that!! However,…read morein this place, the staff are super friendly and really try to help you. The queues can be long, but other members of staff come over and try to advise whether you should use self service iPad or wait for attention.

Open for exactly a year and a day from the moment I've written this review, this branch of Halifax…read moreis probably one of the best branches I've seen from the banking chain, I often find Halifax branches to be pretty basic and lack modern features even in major cities and locations from Liverpool to Manchester which was one of the reasons I left the bank, especially compared to Lloyds Bank who are a part of the same banking group and often have nice branches both old and new. On the other hand, this Halifax store in a way contradicts everything I know about the brand, located on New Oxford Street and is basically opposite Tottenham Court Road station, while also being close to brands such as McDonald's and Starbucks. The branch inside has probably the largest amount of comfortable seating I've seen in London, and while the greeter didn't seem too friendly (he was just stood there rather than acknowledging customers), the store overall did have a greater amount of cash machines which were modern and easy to use than other Halifax branches. Free wi-fi, like any other bank and the opening hours, are great too and are probably the best I've seen in London at a location outside of a shopping mall, being open at retail hours (similar to Metro Bank), open for 12 hours between 8 am and 8 pm during the week, closing 2 hours earlier on Saturday and being open at retail hours (11 - 5) on Sunday. Other cool features I didn't try include Travel Zone (exchange foreign currencies - I personally don't like this approach as I bank with Monzo who offer me free FX paying in real time with my card) but it's useful for those who like paying cash and The Kitchen area (good to grab a coffee) The features of the branch are made clear online, but in the store less so, and the staff didn't seem too friendly or eager to help so those are the banks biggest flaws, but still for a Halifax store this branch is fantastic, above average for a regular bank too and surely warranting a four-star rating for the opening hours and modern, cool, innovative features alone.