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Finder Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards 2019
How did your bank do in our latest survey of customers?
Welcome to the Finder Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards 2019
The awards are decided by the only votes that really matter – yours. We asked customers of all the major banks to tell us about their experiences, and now we can reveal what they said.
The winners
The winners are based on both overall satisfaction scores (that is, star ratings) and at recommendation scores (the percentage of customers who said they’d recommend the brand to a friend). More on this below.
Traditional banks tend to score lower than challenger banks in customer satisfaction surveys, but they also have a few advantages that are less common in challenger banks, such as a big range of available products and the opportunity to bank in person at a branch – so they have a dedicated category in our awards.
And now, without further ado, the winners of Finder’s Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2019 are….(*drum roll, please*)
Winner, Best Bank Overall:
Monzo
Challenger bank Monzo topped our customer satisfaction survey chart from all points of view: it got both the best overall satisfaction score and the highest percentage of customers recommending it.
The crown of “Best Bank Overall” is well deserved.
Monzo is also the most popular challenger bank in the UK, with around 3 million customers. It offers digital-only current accounts and a range of related products that it’s constantly looking to expand. But its most distinctive feature is probably the “coral” debit card everyone on the London Underground seems to have.
Highly Commended:
Starling Bank
There can only be one absolute winner, but really, it was a close call. Customers also gave Starling Bank a five-star overall rating and its recommendation score was just below Monzo’s. So, it deserves a special mention as a brand that customers highly recommend.
Starling Bank is another challenger that offers a mobile current account that can be opened and set up in minutes and managed entirely from the app. It’s great for travelling abroad fee-free but also for improving your money habits at home, since its app comes with a range of budgeting features.
Winner, Best High Street Bank:
Nationwide
OK, it’s not a bank, it’s a building society, but Nationwide easily dominates the traditional banks’ league. It got both the highest overall score and the highest percentage of customers recommending it (an impressive 84%) among high street banks.
Nationwide offers a full range of current accounts, but its top deals are a free account that pays a decent interest rate for the first 12 months and an all-inclusive packaged account that also takes care of your insurance needs.
Highly Commended:
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank came immediately after Nationwide in the survey. While its overall score wasn’t as high, 83% of its customers said they would recommend it to a friend.
Lloyds features a full range of current accounts, including one that pays interest on balances. For a traditional bank, it also offers a pretty slick and user-friendly online and mobile experience, with the app looking clean and tidy and allowing you to do most of your banking directly from your phone.
Our customer satisfaction chart
Table ordered by percentage of customers who said they’d recommend the brand to a friend (recommendation score).
| Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Current account | Review | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | 88% |  | Monzo | Monzo is by far the most popular digital-only bank in the UK – apparently for a good reason. New features are constantly being added to its app-based current account, that comes with a bright “coral” (pinkish) debit card. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 87% |  | Starling | Starling’s mobile-only current account is easy to open and manage and the app is packed with features. Starling’s customers expressed the highest levels of satisfaction, only rivalled by Monzo’s. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 87% |  | Revolut | Revolut’s multicurrency digital account is great for travelling and even better for sending money abroad. You can exchange and hold 29 different currencies for free and also use it as a standard UK account. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 84% |  | Nationwide | The last building society that does banking on a national level, Nationwide offers a good range of current accounts that come with great incentives and perks, from a switching bonus to interest paid on your balance to insurance options. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 83% |  | Lloyds Bank | Another big bank that got a solid score in our survey. Lloyds’s bank accounts suit a wide range of needs, the banking app is not too bad for a traditional bank and there’s also the opportunity to earn interest on your balance. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 83% |  | N26 | N26 was only in the UK for a while, deciding to close its UK operation in early February 2020. German challenger N26 offers a pretty straightforward mobile-only current account with a slick app. | |
★★★★★ | 81% |  | Santander | 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. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 79% |  | First Direct | Known for providing great customer service on the phone 24/7, First Direct only offers one current account option, but it’s a very solid one. And there’s also a switching incentive to make it more appealing. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 78% |  | Barclays | Barclay’s current accounts aren’t half bad. They come with the option of earning rewards at selected retailers. Plus, it’s Barclays – for people who like sticking with the big brands, it doesn’t get much better than that. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 78% |  | HSBC | HSBC also offers a great switching incentive, a good range of current accounts and all the benefits of a big bank, including 24/7 support and access to a regular savings account with a top rate. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 77% |  | Metro Bank | One of the few challenger banks that also has a good network of branches, Metro Bank only offers one current account, whose top feature is that it doesn’t charge you for using the card or withdrawing cash in Europe. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 73% |  | TSB | TSB’s current accounts are solid and it’s one of the few remaining banks offering an interest rate on its standard current account. Plus, you only need to pay in £500 a month to qualify for it. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 73% |  | Monese | Another straightforward digital-only account that’s especially good for travellers or people who often have to change country, Monese lets you open a euro account side by side with your UK one, for free. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 71% |  | NatWest | NatWest has one of the top switching incentive on the market, and you can choose between free and rewards accounts. If that sounds appealing but you’re still unsure, you’ll be glad to hear that it also got a decent score in our survey. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 69% |  | Halifax | The most notable features of Halifax’s current accounts are a few good reward and insurance options, plus a fee-free overdraft option when you join. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 63% |  | Bank of Scotland | Bank of Scotland doesn’t feature a huge range of accounts nor are they particularly exciting, but there’s a very solid package account option available that comes with loads of insurance benefits. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 60% |  | RBS | Royal Bank of Scotland is Natwest’s Scottish little sister. Just like its sibling, it also offers a competitive switching incentive and a very solid selection of rewards accounts featuring cashback on your bills. | Read our review |
Customer satisfaction ratings methodology
In July 2019, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on current accounts. 1,000 people answered and told us how happy they are with their current account provider.
The survey asked respondents how satisfied they are with their current accounts (from one to five and whether they would recommend the brand to a friend or not. We turned the results into star ratings and shortlisted the top-performing brands for our awards. When there was a draw, we used the recommendation score (that is, 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 bank ratings methodology page.
Banking ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
The customer satisfaction score (“You say”) is based on a survey of 1,000 customers carried out in July 2019.
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