Best and worst UK banks based on switching - from Barclays to HSBC and Santander
A record number of people switched their current account provider in the last quarter of 2023, according to the Current Account Switch Service (Cass).
Between October and December 2023, Cass oversaw 433,701 switches, the highest quarterly total since the service started over a decade ago. The latest figures reveal that since its launch in September 2013, Cass has facilitated over 10.2 million switches.
The service believes that customers are drawn by switching incentives, promotional offers, and services that better meet their needs. Cass was set up to make switching current accounts easier.
Payments are automatically transferred to the new account and a guarantee ensures that if something goes wrong with the switch, the account holder won't lose out. In November 2023 alone, a record 162,637 personal, small business, and charity accounts were switched. Data also showed that from July to September 2023, NatWest had the highest net switching gains from those using Cass to switch, at 59,158. This was followed by HSBC UK (25,037), TSB (15,754) and RBS (6,382).
Santander lost a lot of customers, while Barclays also saw many people leave. Andrew Hagger from Moneycomms.co.uk said: "The latest Cass figures once again confirm that offering a cash incentive drives new business."
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He also mentioned: "HSBC and NatWest offered £200 (to switch) for much of 2023 and is reflected in their strong performance in 2023." Alastair Douglas from TotallyMoney noted: "The number of switching offers has tailed off in 2024 ... whether this is just a lull or maybe the beginning of the end for cash incentives, time will tell, but without the incentives it's highly likely that switching numbers will fade."
John Dentry from Pay.UK said: "Once again, the run-up to the Christmas period proves itself to be an important time for switching current accounts. It's encouraging to see more consumers and businesses utilising the service to take advantage of a healthy banking market and ultimately find a current account that best serves their needs."
"As interest rates appear to be stabilising, it will be interesting to see how the market develops. Despite higher interest rates, cash incentives and other financial benefits, online and mobile banking still continues to be the most significant reason that consumers prefer their new current account."
"Following another year of high switching volumes, those considering a new current account should be comforted by the fact that the service has facilitated over 10 million switches through a quick, free and easy process."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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