Part Two – An account at Martins Bank…								Click HERE for Part One
“An account at Martins Bank” is the multi-page leaflet used to explain every last detail about accounts, savings, overdrafts and loans with Martins Bank, and how useful they can be. The Leaflet is first seen in the late 1950s, and continues in service for at least a decade. An iconic reminder of the bank that goes to extremes to be helpful, “An account at Martins Bank” is shown below adapted for the internet from our own archive copy. Enjoy!
It is not necessary to be rich to have a banking account, but more and more people are beginning to appreciate the convenience and wisdom of keeping their money in a bank. There are three principal ways in which a banking account can be of great help: by ensuring the absolute safety of your money; by offering a method of keeping your financial affairs in order; and by providing a means of saving. There are three main types of account which you can open at Martins Bank—current accounts, deposit accounts and savings accounts. Current accounts The current account is the usual type of account into which you can pay the money you receive and out of which you can draw cash as you require it or pay your various outgoings. For instance, you can pay in your salary or wages or arrange for them to be put into your account direct, and you can pay in any other cash or cheques or dividends which you may receive; and all your outgoings such as coal, gas, electricity, rent, rates, taxes, insurance premiums, hire-purchase instalments and so on can be paid either by cheque or by credit transfer. If you are a housewife, you can pay in your housekeeping allowance and settle your accounts at the various shops by cheque. The Bank keeps a record of your account for you, which is called a statement. In one column are listed all the amounts paid in, and in another all the amounts paid out, the remaining balance being clearly shown. This enables you to have a useful picture of your financial affairs —and that is a big step towards saving.
Deposit accounts Deposit accounts, on which interest is payable, are for money placed “on deposit” for a minimum of seven days, and for which seven days' notice of withdrawal is normally required. Savings accounts Savings accounts, on which interest is also allowed, can be opened at Martins Bank by anyone. Deposits of 1/-d. or more will be accepted, and a special box can be provided for collecting notes and coins at home. A cheque book is not issued for a savings account but withdrawals of up to £20 can be made at any branch of Martins Bank or Lewis's Bank on production of your passbook containing a specimen of your signature.
The cost of a banking account Each half year the Bank makes a charge for operating a current account, according to the work that is involved. The amount is often surprisingly small and indeed may be nothing at all if a reasonable balance is kept. No charges are made on deposit or savings accounts. If you wish, your account can be opened in joint names—your own together with that of either your wife or some other person(s). If you call at any of the Bank's branches or write to the manager, we will be pleased to give you full details and help you to decide which type of account will suit your needs.
	Your cheques cashed The Bank will arrange for you to cash your cheques anywhere in the country where there is a bank, either at one of its own branches or at a branch of another bank. Financial assistance The Bank will be prepared to discuss with you the granting of an overdraft or other financial assistance if ever this is required. Investment service If you want help or advice about investments, our Managers will gladly obtain for you advice from the experts in such matters. H.P. instalments, insurance premiums and other regular payments. You can arrange for the Bank to make these payments automatically from your account when they become due. Your Income Tax If you wish, the Bank will attend to your Income Tax affairs for you. Your Will The Bank can act as Executor or Trustee for you. Foreign currency and travellers' cheques. If you go abroad the Bank can supply foreign currency, and travellers' cheques which can be exchanged for foreign currency. Martins Bank travellers' cheques can be used in this country as well. Bankers Cards Bankers Cards are available to approved customers so that their cheques are more readily acceptable in payment for goods and services, or can be cashed without prior arrangement at a large number of branches of banks all over Britain and Ireland. A reference supplied The Bank can supply a reference for you, a useful facility if you are applying for a passport or opening a shopping or credit account. Your valuables guarded The Bank provides accommodation in its strong rooms and safes for your deeds, share certificates, or other documents of value, and for locked boxes or sealed parcels containing jewellery or other valuables. In all these matters strict secrecy is observed and your affairs will not be divulged to any other person—not even to a relation—without your knowledge and permission. In addition., any customer can draw upon the experience and knowledge of the bank manager and enjoy his friendly help and guidance without obligation.
At this point we should perhaps tell you something about ourselves. Martins Bank operates over 700 branches throughout England, Wales., the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The Bank started as the Bank of Liverpool over 130 years ago but the old private bank., Martin's Bank., London., which became part of the larger bank in 1918, dates back to 1563. The grasshopper in the Bank's coat of arms is the emblem which Sir Thomas Gresham, the famous Elizabethan financier, displayed outside his house in Lombard Street, where our principal London office now stands, and where banking business has been done without a break since the sixteenth century. The bird which is prominently displayed on our coat of arms is the Liver Bird of Liverpool. The constant aim of our managers and every member of our staff is the maintenance of a friendly personal relationship with every customer, whose presence in the bank is always welcomed whether he has £i or £1,000 in his account. Again and again our customers tell us "Martins Bank is such a friendly bank" and we train our staff in this tradition to provide a very important public service. It is also of interest to note that in the course of our growth we have absorbed or amalgamated with over thirty smaller banks, many of them family concerns who have the same excellent tradition. We hope, after what we have said, that you will feel that we have something to offer you and you will now want to know how to set about opening your account and how to conduct it.
Any adult person can open a current account by walking into any branch and having a word with the cashier. Accounts can also be opened for those who are not yet 21, such as students, who can appreciate the responsibilities involved in having a cheque book. The procedure is quite simple: you will be asked your full name and address., and for a specimen of your signature so that the officials of the Bank may be familiar with it and have it available for comparison when necessary. A reference will be required "and the person to whom the Bank may refer must be someone who knows you.
This can be discussed at the time of opening the account and the Manager will guide you as to who is a suitable person. You will appreciate that asking for a reference is a general safeguard of the banking system before a cheque book is issued.
					Paying money in After the formalities have been completed the first thing to do is to put some money in your newly-opened account. The sum need only be a few pounds, and indeed many of our customers start in a very small way. Whenever you pay anything into your account you can use the paying-in slips provided by the Bank.
Cash, cheques, money orders, postal orders and dividend warrants can all be paid into your account; you can pay in at any branch of any bank—not just at your own—so long as you remember to put on the special paying-in slip provided for the purpose, the name of your own bank and branch as well as the name of the account to be credited. Other accounts The procedure for opening a deposit account or a savings account is equally simple: anyone behind the counter will explain it to you. No reference is needed to open a savings account. The use of a cheque book The Bank itself makes no charge for a cheque book, but it collects the stamp duty of 2d. on each cheque and hands it over to the revenue authorities. Cheques for current accounts are supplied in books of various sizes to suit requirements. The use of a cheque book avoids the necessity of carrying large sums of cash about with you and can provide also a convenient record of the payments you make from your balance in the Bank. You can give cheques to almost anyone to whom you owe money. You also use cheques to draw cash for yourself from your account and, as we mentioned earlier, one of the great advantages of having a banking account is that we can arrange for you to get cash in this way at any branch of any bank in the British Isles. This is an added convenience if you are staying in a place where there is no branch of Martins Bank.
To write a cheque, you fill in the name of the person or firm to whom payment is to be made; then, of course, you must write in the amount of money, which must be in both words and figures as a safeguard against accidentally filling in the wrong amount; you should write the date in the space provided and finally put your signature at the bottom. When writing your cheques there are a few simple rules to be observed for both your protection and ours: 1 Always write your cheques in ink. 2 Start writing as far over to the left-hand side as possible and do not leave spaces between words. The same applies to figures. If too much space is left, the word 'seven', for example, could be altered to 'seventy' and '£7' to '£70'. 3 If you make a mistake, alter it in a legible way, preferably by crossing it out and re-writing the altered word or figure; sign your name against each alteration. 4 Always sign your cheques in the same manner as you did when you gave the specimen of your signature on opening your account, otherwise its authenticity may be queried. 5 Remember to fill in the counterfoil or record sheet. Not only does this enable you to keep up-to-date with your financial position, but you can compare the particulars with your bank statement and, should a cheque be lost or if for any reason you wish to stop payment of it, you will be able to give the Bank the exact details. 6 Except where you want to draw cash for your self, it is a valuable safeguard to 'cross' your cheques in the manner indicated in the illustration which shows the correct way to write a cheque. This prevents anyone from getting cash at a bank counter if, for example, you dropped a cheque in the street and someone picked it up and tried to cash it, because a cheque which is crossed has to be paid into a banking account and cannot be cashed across the counter. Your cheque book can be supplied with cheques already crossed, or you can draw the two parallel lines on each cheque yourself when required. The disadvantage of a book of crossed cheques is that when you want to draw money yourself you have to 'cancel the crossing' by writing between the parallel lines 'Please pay cash' and adding your usual signature, as shown in the illustration 7 When you use a cheque for the purpose of drawing cash for yourself you should endorse it by signing your name on the back, as indicated in the illustration.
1. Always keep your cheque book in a safe place where no one can have access to it but yourself. 2. Never leave it lying about, as there is always thedanger that cheques might be torn out of it by someone and improper use made of them. 3. Never sign your name on the cover—someone might copy your signature on to a cheque. 4. Never sign a cheque and leave the other spaces blank—someone might complete the cheque and obtain money on your signature. 5. Never allow anyone to have a cheque out of your book, even if that person says he is a customer of the Bank. 6. If your cheque book is missing or if you mislay a cheque out of it, inform your bank manager immediately and ask him to stop payment of it.
As an alternative to making payments by cheque, the credit transfer system provides a means whereby money can be paid into the banking account of any business concern or individual who is a customer of any bank in the British Isles. Special forms, of the type illustrated, are frequently sent out with bills.
These forms should be filled in and handed to the cashier, together with the money which is to be paid over or an order to deduct the amount from your account. Several such payments can be made at one time, thus avoiding the necessity to send out a number of separate cheques. In case of need, a blank form can be obtained at the counter.
The Bank keeps a statement of your current or deposit account^ listing all the amounts you have paid in and paid out3 and showing the balance which remains. You can arrange for your statement to be sent to you at regular intervals or the Bank will be pleased to give you any information about your account at any time you require it.
To give you more details of some of the services of Martins Bank the following publications are available free of charge at any branch: Executor and Trustee Services Income Tax Money for Travel Your Investments - The Bank also publishes three guides: · Starting a Business in Britain Information about business in this country written primarily for the overseas businessman · The World is Your Market · A guide to overseas trading Finance for Farmers and Growers Describes the grants and loans available from various sources Leeds 28-30 Park Row, 1 Liverpool 4 Water Street, 2 London 68 Lombard Street, B.C.3 Manchester 43 Spring Gardens, 2 Midland 98 Colmore row, Birmingham, 3 North Eastern 22 Grey Street., Newcastle upon Tyne, 1 South Western 47 Corn Street, Bristol, 1 Over 700 branches throughout the country
© gut informiert 2007 to date

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