Current accounts can offer a number of different perks, including better interest rates, switching offers and overdrafts. We look at the latest current account statistics, including how many people are switching and the top reasons for doing so.
In the year to June 2024, there were 1.41 million current account switches using the switching service. In 2023, there were 1.46 million current account switches in total, up 48% from around 987,000 in 2023.
The number of current account switches was down by 7% in April-June 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, going from 338,000 to 313,000.
The quarterly number of current account switches over the past 2 years peaked in the last 3 months of 2024, with a total of over 376,000 switches. The end of the year has tended to be the most popular time for switching over the past few years.
| Quarter | Number of switches |
|---|---|
| Q1 2021 | 137,976 |
| Q2 2021 | 182,745 |
| Q3 2021 | 212,600 |
| Q4 2021 | 248,902 |
| Q1 2022 | 196,964 |
| Q2 2022 | 191,777 |
| Q3 2022 | 222,108 |
| Q4 2022 | 376,107 |
| Q1 2023 | 341,075 |
| Q2 2023 | 338,194 |
The most common reason for preferring their new bank account was for better online or mobile app banking, with 43% of people giving that reason. Earning a better rate of interest was the second most popular reason, with 37% citing this reason.
Other common reasons switchers preferred their new account were better customer service (29%) and the location of branches (24%).
| Reason | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Online or mobile app banking | 41 |
| Customer service | 29 |
| Interest earned | 29 |
| Account fees or charges | 25 |
In the first three months of 2024, NatWest gained 83,000 new customers through CASS (the current account switch service) and lost over 22,000 meaning they had net gains of over 60,000, while Barclays lost almost 44,000 customers and gained just over 5,000, giving them a net customer loss of almost 39,000. Banks tend to gain a lot of customers when they are running offers.
| Bank | Customers gained | Customers lost |
|---|---|---|
| Natwest | 45,651 | |
| HSBC | 28,486 | |
| Lloyds | 10,959 | |
| RBS | 4,165 | |
| Santander | 4,092 | |
| TSB | 3,269 | |
| Starling Bank | 299 | |
| Triodos Bank | 93 | |
| Ulster Bank | 77 | |
| Bank of Ireland | -322 | |
| Danske | -366 | |
| AIB Group (UK) p.l.c | -866 | |
| Co-operative | -1,359 | |
| Bank of Scotland | -2,458 | |
| Virgin Money | -6,240 | |
| Monzo Bank Limited | -7,635 | |
| Barclays | -18,655 | |
| Halifax | -21,322 | |
| Nationwide | -34,259 |
Research from Finder has revealed that consumers are facing an increasing number of hurdles to qualify for a bank switch deal.
Finder analysed bank switching deals on the market in the 4-year period* to determine how many unique requirements** consumers would have to meet before getting their cash reward. The deal with the most criteria in 2020 had a total of 2 steps, however, by 2024, this has risen substantially to 6. The researchers also found that the average number of requirements across all bank switching deals in a year had increased in the same period, almost doubling from 1.6 to 2.9.
We surveyed Brits and discovered that less than half (46%) have ever switched their current account, while less than a quarter of Brits (24%) have switched banks to take advantage of a switching offer.
UK account providers will ask you to read and sign a terms and conditions document before opening an account with them. This is a legal agreement so it’s important to understand what you are agreeing to. Terms and conditions documents can vary in length and content, so we analysed the account terms for 16 of the most popular providers to find out how long they take to read and how easy they are to understand.
| Response | Complexity score (higher means more complex) |
|---|---|
| TSB | 4.4 |
| Starling | 4 |
| Santander | 6.8 |
| Revolut | 5 |
| RBS | 7 |
| Natwest | 6.6 |
| Nationwide | 5 |
| Monzo | 6.5 |
| Lloyds | 8 |
| Kroo | 6.5 |
| Halifax | 7.5 |
| HSBC | 7.5 |
| First Direct | 5 |
| Co-op | 7 |
| Chase | 6 |
| Barclays | 7 |
Based on factors including length, structure, clarity of content and accessibility, the average complexity score for a UK account was 6.2 out of 10. You can see the account providers with the most and least complex terms and conditions in the table above.
| Response | Time in minutes |
|---|---|
| TSB | 67 |
| Starling | 34 |
| Santander | 116 |
| Revolut | 46 |
| RBS | 49 |
| Natwest | 83 |
| Nationwide | 87 |
| Monzo | 18 |
| Lloyds | 92 |
| Kroo | 53 |
| Halifax | 97 |
| HSBC | 75 |
| First Direct | 69 |
| Co-op | 49 |
| Chase | 35 |
| Barclays | 69 |
We also calculated the average time to read the terms and conditions for each UK account provider. The reading time for these terms and conditions based on the reading speed of a typical person comes in at an impressive 65 minutes – that’s the time it takes to read the document from start to finish. That’s a decent chunk of your day!
We assessed the terms and conditions across 16 of the most popular UK account providers.
The complexity score of the terms and conditions for each UK account was calculated by looking at the following criteria: length and structure, language and clarity, technical terms and legal jargon, content coverage and detail, accessibility and user-friendliness. These were then combined to give an overall complexity score out of 10.
The reading time of the terms and conditions for each UK account was calculated by dividing the word count of the document by the number of words that the average person reads per minute.
* Researchers combed through archives of bank switching deals that had been advertised between January 2020 and August 2024. They pulled the requirements from the terms and conditions of the deal. It is not guaranteed that every single bank switch deal has been included, but care has been taken to include as many as could be found and analysed.
** Reference to requirements in this research include only those considered unique or not present in every offer. Universal requirements were not counted – these included being a UK resident, opening the eligible account, closing the old account, and submitting the switching request using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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