I use the Co-Op for /everything/.
Their ethics and shit are good. Their banking and shit is shit.
If you're worried about international payments, you can cash cheques in any currency for no fee.
And Halifax are cunts, don't go anywhere near them.
How odd.
Every foreign cheque I've ever presented has involved a fee at my end, and often at the sender's end too.
You must have a magic bank.
For people not in the UK wanting to contribute, you might want to look into XE.com's XEtrade:
http://www.xe.com/fx/?AdTracking=http://www.xe.com/&mission
Also good for people in the UK who need to send money to a bank not in the UK...
>>the CC company negotiates the best exchange rate
No they don't. The credit card company uses the Visa/Master Card daily rate (set in advance by Visa and Master Card), and then (in the UK at least, I presume it's the same elsewhere) they adjust that rate by about 2.5% so they charge you more than they pay Visa or Master Card.
Woo.