This service gives customers weekly updates about their bank account balances and transactions, and alerts about other account activity
Santander is making a huge change to one of its services from next week. The high street bank is scrapping its text alerts.
This service gives customers weekly updates about their bank account balances and transactions, and alerts about other account activity, such as if you go over an account limit.
You have to sign up for text alerts either online, over the phone, or by visiting a Santander branch. But from May 12, customers will stop receiving text alerts for certain scenarios.
You won’t get an alert if your account balance goes below or above a limit you’ve set, or if you pay in or take out more money than a limit you’ve set.
You also will no longer get weekly texts about your account balances and transactions. But you will still receive alerts if there are changes to your account that could lead to you being charged – for example, if you get close to your overdraft limit or if you enter an unarranged overdraft.
Santander says customers can monitor their account activity by registering for online or mobile banking, or by visiting a branch in person.
In a message detailing the change on the Santander website, the bank said: “If you’ve registered for some alerts on a Personal current account or savings account, from 12 May 2025 we’ll stop sending them.
“We’re doing this because you can get a more detailed view of your account activity with Mobile or Online Banking.”
First Direct, sister bank to HSBC, axed text message alerts last summer. Previously, customers used to get a text statement each week along with five recent transactions – but this service stopped from August 10.
A spokesperson from First Direct said at the time: “There’s lots of other ways for customers to access information about their account.
“Push notifications are now available to all customers through mobile and online banking, providing detailed and up-to-date information about their balance and transactions in real-time.”
It comes after Santander became the first major bank to reduce mortgage affordability rates, allowing people to to borrow up to £35,000 more.
The lender has reduced the stress-test rates borrowers are checked against, which looks at whether they can afford to continue to pay their mortgage if interest rates rise.
Santander tests if borrowers can afford a rate that is about one percentage point above its standard variable rate (SVR) of 6.75%. This is today being reduced to between 6% and 7%.
Santander says this means someone applying for a residential mortgage can now borrow between £10,000 to £35,000 more, depending on their individual circumstances.