UK Current Account Switch Service hits eight million milestone

The switches in 2022 saw the Current Account Switch Service pass the eight million switches milestone.

Current Account Switch Service customer data (which is three months in arrears) shows that from October to December 2021, Santander had the highest net switching gains (36,494), followed by Nationwide (33,691) and Starling Bank (10,364). Monzo (3,068) and ethical bank Triodos (642) were in fourth and fifth place respectively. Net end user inflows are typically influenced by customer switching incentives and, in recent times, a need for many end users to switch away from Tesco and M&S, which closed their current account offerings.

The Service continued to perform well in Q1 2022 and exceeded its awareness and satisfaction targets at 76% and 90% respectively. It also completed 99.8% of switches within seven working days.

The latest data2 for Q1 2022 shows service related, non-financial benefits continue to be the main reasons end users prefer their new current account to their old one – as has been the case in the previous year. Online banking (53%), mobile banking/banking app ease (42%), customer service (40%) and location of branches (22%) were listed as the top reasons for people preferring their new current account. One in six (15%) current account holders are actively thinking about switching, with those who have experienced a major life event in the past year twice as likely to consider switching (22% compared to 9%).

In Q1 2022, research3 conducted by the Current Account Switch Service into the impact of the pandemic on brand loyalty found that 33% of end users claim to be very loyal to their existing current account provider, but nearly one in five (18%) feel that the cost-of-living crisis is pushing them to seek out product features such as additional overdraft facilities. One in ten (10%) also believe that they now need banking services that can help them better track their spending.

David Piper, Head of Service Lines at Pay.UK, owner and operator of the Current Account Switch Service, said: “We have seen positive levels of engagement and satisfaction with the Current Account Switch Service at the start of this year, with a higher number of switches taking place compared to this quarter in 2021, when pandemic disruption was more front of mind for many.

“Of course, with cost-of-living rises continuing to put pressure on many households it’s more important than ever that people assess whether their existing current account is best suited to their needs. It may be that an alternative provider could offer something preferable and we would encourage those considering a switch to remember that the Current Account Switch Service is free to use, easy and guaranteed.”