Do you need to be with the FSB to get free banking with the Co-op i thought it was free anyway but business users, kind of defeats the object though if you have to pay to be a member of the FSB to get free banking. Have thought about it myself and for me the downside is that there are not so many branches, so easy for me to use HSBC around my neck of the woods. You can do your banking at the Post Office with a Co-op bank account but it will take a day or two longer to hit your account. I use to be a Sub-Postmaster and the other downside of banking through the Post Office is that all though they use the internal mail for banking purposes paper work did on occasion go missing and you are also at the mercy of poorly trained staff who might make mistakes.