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Which bank is the best in the UK? Which is top for customer satisfaction? Which one polls the best for its online and mobile banking service? And which one gives you good perks if you switch? Here’s how to find the best bank account in the UK to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your money.
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No fees overseas
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In 2023, we published our independent customer satisfaction survey on current accounts in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Here’s the full list of providers we considered and how many of their customers said they’d recommend the brand to a friend. Learn more about the results and the winners.
Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Issuer | Review | |
---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | 94% | ![]() | Starling’s digital-only current account is quick to open and efficient to manage, and the app is packed with features. Starling’s customers in our survey praised the app’s ease of use and the bank’s great customer service. | Visit Starling |
★★★★★ | 90% | ![]() | The last building society that does banking on a national level, Nationwide offers a good range of current accounts, some of which come with great incentives and perks, from interest paid on your balance to insurance options. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 89% | ![]() | Revolut’s multi-currency digital account is good for travelling and for sending money abroad. You can exchange and hold 29 different currencies for free, and also use it as a standard UK current account – although you can’t deposit cash or cheques. | Visit Revolut |
★★★★★ | 88% | ![]() | Another big bank that also got five stars in our survey was Lloyds. It offers current accounts that suit a wide range of needs, has a large branch network and has been investing in its digital banking features too. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 86% | ![]() | Popular digital challenger bank Monzo offers app-based current accounts that are packed with features, with customers in our survey highlighting the useful money management and savings tools. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 85% | ![]() | High street bank Santander comes with all the advantages of a big bank and offers a wide range of current accounts. Among its top-selling points is the option of earning cashback on your bills. | Visit Santander |
★★★★★ | 82% | ![]() | With NatWest, you can choose between free current accounts and paid-for rewards accounts. Customers praised its dependable service and easy to use mobile banking app. | Visit NatWest |
★★★★★ | 81% | ![]() | Current accounts by Barclays come recommended by 81% of its customers in our survey. Respondents praised the bank’s helpful customer service, as well as its banking app. | Visit Barclays |
★★★★★ | 81% | ![]() | Bank of Scotland is a subsidiary of the Lloyds banking group. Its bank branches are mainly in Scotland, although you can live elsewhere in the UK to open an account. Its customers in our survey were mostly pleased with its friendly and helpful customer service. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 79% | ![]() | Last year’s winner, Halifax has several current account options, ranging from basic accounts up to reward accounts. Many customers in our survey highlighted its reliability and range of services on offer. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 75% | ![]() | Virgin Money has been steadily growing its current account range since its launch in 2019. It now has one free and one paid-for current account to choose from, and its customers that we polled were fairly happy with the customer service and banking app. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 80% | ![]() | HSBC has three everyday current accounts in its roster, depending on your personal circumstances and income. Many of its customers in our survey were long-standing account holders and were pleased with the customer service. | Visit HSBC |
★★★★★ | 75% | ![]() | The Co-operative Bank prides itself on its customer-led Ethical Policy, which was a main draw for a lot of customers in our survey. It has one standard current account and a packaged current account. | Visit The Co-operative Bank |
★★★★★ | 74% | ![]() | Another digital-only account, Monese, is especially good for frequent travellers or people who often have to work across different countries. Overseas purchases and ATM withdrawals can be free, depending on which plan you’ve signed up to, and you can also set up a euro account for free. | Visit Monese |
★★★★★ | 74% | ![]() | Royal Bank of Scotland is NatWest’s sister bank. Just like its peer, it offers a selection of current accounts that include cashback at selected retailers. | Visit Royal Bank of Scotland |
★★★★★ | 74% | ![]() | The TSB banking brand returned to the UK high street in 2013. Some customers in our survey praised its good level of customer service, while others highlighted the bank’s recent branch closures. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 73% | ![]() | Known for providing great customer service on the phone 24/7, the UK’s first telephone bank and HSBC sibling First Direct only offers one current account. But it’s a solid banking option that’s recommended by nearly 4 out of 5 customers in our survey. | Visit first direct |
★★★★★ | 65% | ![]() | One of the few challenger banks that also has a network of branches, Metro Bank only offers one current account, whose top feature is that it doesn’t charge you for using the card to make purchases or withdraw cash in Europe. | Read our review |
In December 2022, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on current accounts. 2,944 people answered and told us how happy (or not) they were with their current account provider.
The survey asked respondents how satisfied they were with their current account on a scale from 1 to 5, and also whether they would recommend their banking provider to a friend or not. We turned the results into star ratings and shortlisted the top-performing brands for our awards. Where there was a draw in terms of star ratings, we used the recommendation score (the percentage of customers who said they would recommend the brand to a friend) as a tie-breaker.
Full details of our star ratings for this sector are on the banking ratings methodology page.
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
The customer satisfaction score is based on a survey of 2,944 customers carried out in December 2022.
Best all rounder and best bank account for overseas spending: Starling Bank
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0.05% AER
Interest (AER)
Overall, Starling's current account is a strong choice. It was the winner in the Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023 and our banking experts rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars. It has a lot to recommend it. As one of the largest digital-only banks, it has built a service which has a variety of payments and budgeting features for customers to use directly through their app. This includes savings pots, virtual cards, round-up spare change options and all the regular banking payment services.
Starling Bank is also a great option if you're looking for fee free spending when you travel. You can pay on card or withdraw cash abroad without being charged. Considering foreign transaction fees are usually around 2.99%, this can be quite a saving if you're off on your hols. On top of this, Starling keeps to Mastercard's real exchange rates, so you can get more for your money.
Interest rate | 0.05% AER |
---|---|
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
Minimum operating balance | £0.01 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | £0 |
Overseas cash withdrawals | £0 |
Best bank account for in-credit interest: Kroo
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
3.6% AER
Interest (AER)
Interest rate | 3.6% AER |
---|---|
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
Minimum operating balance | £0 |
Switch service guarantee | No |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 0% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | £0.01 |
Best bank account for payment features: Lloyds
£1
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0% AER
Interest (AER)
Interest rate | 0% AER |
---|---|
Minimum opening balance | £1 |
Minimum operating balance | £1 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 2.99% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 2.99% |
Best bank account for budgeting tools: Monzo
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0% AER
Interest (AER)
Interest rate | 0% AER |
---|---|
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 0% |
Best bank account for linked savings account: first direct
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0% AER
Interest (AER)
Interest rate | 0% AER |
---|---|
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
Minimum operating balance | £0 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 2.75% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 2.75% |
Best bank account for cashback: TSB
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0% AER
Interest (AER)
Interest rate | 0% AER |
---|---|
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
Minimum operating balance | £0 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 2.99% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 2.99% |
To come up with our Finder ratings and picks for the best bank accounts in the UK, our team looked at every free-to-use current account and scored them across 8 key areas.
We looked at their app scores in the Google Play Store and the App Store, their monthly fees, their transaction fees for things like ATM withdrawals or having your bank card delivered, their customer satisfaction scores including how they were ranked in our Finder survey, their account access including in-branch and online, their payment features and their extra features like spending categories or reward programmes.
We scored each category out of 5. For example, if a bank account had no fees for transactions like direct debits, card purchases, deposits and withdrawals, it would score 5 out of 5. To calculate our Finder rating, we averaged out all these scores and rounded them to the nearest half star.
You’ll also see accounts we picked as being outstanding in certain categories, such as the best bank account for overseas spending or the best bank account for payment features. What you need from a bank account is personal, so these picks are just a guide to help you with your decision.
Before you answer this question, you should ask “what do I need from my bank account?”
Work out what you need before comparing the options.
Our list of the biggest banks in the UK is comprised of the main retail banks and building societies. We have ranked them based on their total number of assets in pounds sterling.
These figures were taken from the banks’ and building societies’ latest annual reports.
Lloyds Banking Group was formed in 2009, bringing together some of the UK’s biggest high street banks including Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland. Lloyds Bank traces its origins back to 1765, when Samson Lloyd opened a private bank in Birmingham. Since then Lloyds has grown into one of the UK’s largest high street banking operations. Halifax began life in 1852 as an investment and loan society for workers in the textile industry across large market towns in the north of England. Its head office remains in the West Yorkshire market town that bears its name. Finally, Bank of Scotland is Scotland’s oldest bank, having first been established in 1695.
Number of customers | 26 million |
Number of branches | circa 759 |
Total assets (GBP) | £877.8 billion (across Lloyds Banking Group) |
Number of employees (GBP) | 58,000 (across all Lloyds Banking Group Brands) |
NatWest dates its history back to 1968, when three regional banks merged to form National Westminster Bank. NatWest prides itself on its technological innovation, leading the growth of cash machines throughout the 1970s and introducing the Switch debit card.
The Royal Bank of Scotland was established in Edinburgh in 1727. Over the course of the next century the bank expanded its branch network across Scotland, and in 1972 offered the UK’s first residential mortgages.
Nowadays RBS serves customers across Great Britain through and, using the Ulster Bank brand, across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The bank’s head offices are in Edinburgh.
Number of customers | 15.8 million |
Number of branches | 1328 |
Total assets (GBP) | £720.1 billion |
Number of employees (GBP) | 57,900 |
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, or HSBC for short, traces its roots to 1865. It was first established as a business bank to help trade between Europe and Asia. Today it is a global banking giant, offering personal banking, commercial and business banking services and wealth management across 62 countries. HSBC’s UK head office is in Birmingham.
First Direct was created in 1989 by Midland Bank, one of what used to be called the ‘big four’ UK banking giants. A pioneer in customer-friendly telephone banking, Midland Bank, and subsidiary First Direct were bought by HSBC in 1992. Nowadays First Direct regularly tops customer rankings for the quality of its online banking service. First Direct is headquartered in Leeds.
Number of customers | 13.5 million (across HSBC, First Direct and M&S Bank brands) |
Number of branches | 327 (HSBC only) |
Total assets (GBP) | £342.4 billion (across all HSBC UK) |
Number of employees (GBP) | 18,500 (Across all UK operations) |
Barclays began life in 1690 as a small bank in the City of London catering to goldsmiths. Since then the company has grown into a global financial services giant. Its headquarters are based in Canary Wharf, one of London’s major financial centres.
Number of customers | 48 million (worldwide) |
Number of branches | 1,297 |
Total assets (GBP) | £313.2 billion |
Number of employees (GBP) | 42,800 (Across all UK Barclays divisions) |
Spanish banking group Santander entered the UK consumer and retail banking market in 2004 when it acquired the UK lender Abbey National. Since then it has grown its product offering.
Number of customers | 14 million |
Number of branches | 449 |
Total assets (GBP) | £292.2 billion |
Number of employees (GBP) | 19,000 |
Nationwide can trace its history back to 1884, when the Co-operative Permanent Building Society opened its doors to allow members too pool their savings to help each other buy homes. By 1970, the society had grown by merging with around 250 other building societies. To reflect its larger reach, it changed its name to Nationwide.
Today, the building society offers loans and personal banking services to millions of people. Its headquarters are in Swindon.
Number of customers | 16 million |
Number of branches | 625 |
Total assets (GBP) | £279.9 billion |
Number of employees (GBP) | 18,000 (Across all UK operations) |
Metro first opened its doors in 2010, representing one of an emerging class of challenger banks. Unlike other, more recent market players, Metro places a great deal of emphasis on its customer-friendly branch opening hours.
Number of customers | 2.7 million |
Number of branches | 76 |
Total assets (GBP) | £22.12 billion |
Number of employees (GBP) | 2,831 |
We spoke with an expert panel consisting of 11 academics, economics, mortgage experts and savings experts, asking them to provide a range of predictions and opinions on the state of the UK base rate, and its wider impact on consumers and the economy.
The consensus across the majority of Finder's panelists is that a rise of 0.5 base points (bp) is the likely outcome from the Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC) taking place on Thursday 02, February, 2023, with 9 out of the 11 experts (82%) expecting this. However, 2 of our panelists (18%) believe it will be a 0.25 bp rise instead.
When asked whether the upcoming rise is the correct decision by the BoE, 8 out of 11 panelists (73%) agreed that it was a good thing. Only 2 panelists (18%) did not agree that this would be the right decision.
We also asked our panelists how they think the BoE should act for the remainder of the year, and whether they should be dovish (eager to lower rates to encourage growth) or hawkish (quick to raise rates to curb inflation). 6 of the experts (55%) said they would take a dovish approach, whilst 4 experts (36%) believed they should be hawkish.
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Which bank should I switch to for Brexit?
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
As a comparison website, we are not permitted to provide specific recommendations or personalised advice. However, what I can advise is for you to find a bank that best fits your needs, preference, and budget. On this page, we have provided some guides and tips for you to remember when finding a new bank. Please review them before making a decision.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
I am moving back to UK from USA in late Jauary 2019.
I am a British Citizen born in UK and wish to open a checking & debit card a/c to have my US & UK pension transferred to. How best to arrange this?
Hi David,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
Yes, it is possible that you are able to transfer your money from the US to UK. However, you would need to directly get in touch with your chosen bank to know the exact step on how to do it.
Moreover, please note that regularly doing a bank to bank money transfer can be costly. You may want to consider other faster and cheaper options here.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
hello. yea so i want to open a new bank account and i dont know which i should chose i want to save money but again to pay small fees and get some bonus % of my saving money and i want to use my card for shopping online or to take something from like vodafone or to take or to take loan and pay monthly which bank is the best and has good reputation and i will not loose my money> Thank you
Hi Customer,
Thanks for your inquiry.
Depending on the type of savings account you need, you can compare your options on this page. These savings accounts are offered by reputable banks and let you earn standard and bonus interest rates. Whenever you need to access your account for whatever purpose or reason, you can also withdraw your funds anytime. Please review the details and T&Cs of the accounts first before you consider it’s the right product for you.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
May