We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you.
Best current accounts in the UK 2021
Discover the best bank account for packaged accounts, basic accounts and cashback accounts.
What's in this guide?
Best current account provider in the UK May 2021 by customer satisfaction
In 2021, we published our customer satisfaction survey on current accounts in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Here’s the full list of providers we’ve considered and how many of their customers said they would recommend them to a friend. Learn more about the results and the winners.
| Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Current account | Review | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | 89% |  | Monzo | The most popular mobile-only bank in the UK. Monzo provides its customers with current accounts that are stacked with features, including a range of budgeting tools and competitive rates on overseas spending and ATM withdrawals. Both free and paid premium accounts are available. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 83% |  | Nationwide | The UK’s biggest building society offers a great range of current accounts packed with features and incentives. Nationwide has been well-known for offering a good range of interest on in-credit balances, and a packaged account with plenty of useful benefits. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 81% |  | Metro Bank | One of the UK’s fastest-growing challenger banks. The Metro Bank current account stands out, as being one of the only UK accounts that doesn’t charge customers for purchases or ATM withdrawals in Europe. A great choice for people who travel overseas often, then. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 80% |  | NatWest | NatWest offers a free account, and a broad range of paid rewards accounts. It therefore tends to be a good choice for customers who stay in credit and use their debit card often. In our most recent customer survey, NatWest was the joint highest-scoring of the ‘big six’ banks. | Visit NatWest |
★★★★★ | 80% |  | Santander | For many years, Santander has been well-known for offering good rates of interest on in-credit balances, as well as cashback on debit card purchases. Santander was the joint highest-scoring of the ‘big six’ banks in our most recent customer service survey. | Visit Santander |
★★★★★ | 79% |  | First Direct | The UK’s first telephone-only bank has developed a reputation for impeccable customer service almost ever since it launched. The bank only offers one current account, but you’ll get a sizeable cash bonus if you switch to First Direct from your existing bank account. | Visit first direct |
★★★★★ | 79% |  | Starling | Starling Bank is a mobile-only current account that is gaining a reputation for offering great rates on international purchases and transfers. The Starling app has several useful budgeting tools, and you can open accounts for either pounds sterling or euros. | Visit Starling |
★★★★★ | 78% |  | Lloyds Bank | Lloyds Bank is one of the UK’s ‘big 6’ banks, meaning you’ll have to access a large network of branches. Lloyds has a good range of bank accounts, and it has recently been investing to improve its digital banking options as well. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 77% |  | Barclays | Barclays offers a good range of rewards and cashback with its current accounts. You’ll also boost your opportunities to earn rewards when you have several products with this bank. Its customers often praise the bank’s “reliable” service, and its mobile banking options. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 75% |  | Halifax | Halifax offers several options for current accounts, depending on your needs. There are basic free accounts and reward accounts too. In our recent customer survey, many Halifax customers made a point to mention the friendly staff and reliable customer service. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 76% |  | RBS | Royal Bank Of Scotland is the sister bank of NatWest. Similarly to its sibling, this bank offers a vast range of current accounts, including rewards accounts that allow its customers to earn cashback on debit card purchases or utility payments. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 71% |  | HSBC | HSBC offers a wide range of current accounts, although you’ll have to deposit a minimum amount of money per month to be eligible for most of them. HSBC current accounts have been well-known for offering a large switching bonus, plus a linked regular savings account that pays good interest. | Visit HSBC |
★★★★★ | 67% |  | Bank of Scotland | Part of the Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of Scotland offers basic accounts, and rewards accounts with a monthly fee. Our customer service survey shows that many of its customers are satisfied with its digital banking. Most of its branches are in Scotland. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 73% |  | Monese | Monese is an online-only bank account, which offers great rates on overseas purchases and ATM withdrawals. You can set up a separate account for euros at no extra charge, if you feel that is necessary. If you travel often, it’s well worth exploring this account. | Visit Monese |
★★★★★ | 69% |  | Revolut | Revolut offers a multi-currency online-only account. It’s great for those who travel often, as well as people who frequently send money overseas. Its useful mobile app has great budgeting tools, and you can use it to invest your money too. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 63% |  | TSB | Since returning to the high street in 2013, TSB has built a reputation for offering good rates of interest on current account balances. In our customer service survey, the bank was praised for “helpful” staff, and effective online banking services. | Read our review |
Customer satisfaction ratings methodology
In December 2020, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on current accounts. 1,941 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 one to five, and also whether they would recommend their bank 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, 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 1,941 customers carried out in December 2020.
Basic bank accounts
A basic bank account is one that lets you hold your money and set up direct debits. These don’t have the features that standard current accounts have, like overdrafts, and are designed for people with a poor credit history.
Best basic bank accounts
For applicants under 16: Metro Bank
Metro’s “Cash Account” is designed for younger applicants (from the age of 11). You can’t set up any direct debits or standing orders with it.
Best for features: NatWest
NatWest offers the most features with its “Foundation Account”. It offers a contactless debit card, the ability to set up direct debits and standing orders, text alerts and emergency cash withdrawals.
For savers: Virgin Money
Virgin’s “M Account” lets you connect your account to an instant savings account. It offers a relatively low interest rate of 0.50%. You can set up savings pots to get started on saving.
The basic account has a contactless card, the ability to set up direct debits and standing orders and offers text alerts to let you know your balance.
Basic account pros and cons
Pros
- Let those with poor credit increase their score
- Gives youngsters a chance to manage their money
Cons
- No additional features
Packaged bank accounts
These accounts come with a fee and are only worth it if you are going to use all of the benefits. It’s always worth looking into how much it would cost you to get the benefits separately before signing up. Of course, a major benefit of one these accounts is the simplicity of it, so think about how much you value ease over cost. Learn more about packaged bank accounts here.
For COVID-19 cover: Nationwide Flex Plus
Nationwide offers a great packaged bank account, but only if you actually use all of the benefits.
The account costs £15 per month and gets you worldwide family travel insurance, including cover if the Foreign Office warns against travel after you’ve booked the holiday and bought the travel insurance.
Also included is breakdown cover with LV and family smartphone insurance.
For home emergency cover: Halifax Ultimate Reward bank account
Halifax’s Ultimate Reward bank account comes close to Nationwide’s. It’s a bit pricier at £17 per month and you need to pay in £1,500 per month to get access to its monthly rewards. It includes worldwide family travel insurance but doesn’t cover you for cancellations due to COVID-19. However, you do get cover for your treatment if you catch coronavirus while abroad.
Also included is breakdown cover, smartphone insurance and home emergency cover with the AA.
For cashback: Co-Op Everyday Extra account
This one falls halfway between Nationwide’s and Halifax’s accounts in terms of cost at £15 per month and has plenty of benefits. There is a requirement to pay in £800 per month to get access to the rewards (nearly half of the amount required for Halifax).
Included is worldwide family travel insurance, but with no COVID-19 cover.
You also get breakdown cover with RAC, mobile phone cover and access to everyday rewards, which is its cashback feature.
Pros and cons of packaged bank accounts
Pros
- You could save money if you travel abroad often and don’t accidentally double up on breakdown cover or insurance where your bank covers you
- Bundles everything into one
- Could get you cover for coronavirus
Cons
- Check if smartphone insurance covers just the account holder or the whole family – some only cover the account holder
- Could be expensive if you’re not using the features
High interest current accounts
Whilst it is not easy to get a good interest rate at the moment there are some “high” interest current accounts that have quite good rates:
Virgin Money Current Account
Virgin Money’s Current Account has a 2% interest rate without you having to pay in a certain amount to qualify for it. Included in the account is no debit card fees abroad and a rate of 0.5% for a linked savings account.
Nationwide Flexdirect
Nationwide’s Flexdirect account also offers a 2% interest rate, but you need to pay in £1,000 per month. You also get a free overdraft for a year.
TSB Classic Plus
If you don’t have £1,000 per month going into your bank account, you can get a lower interest rate of 1.5% with TSB that only requires you to pay £500 in per month. You don’t get access to any other benefits though.
Pros and cons of high interest accounts
Pros
- Interest – you’ll get some reward for putting your money in a bank account
- There are typically additional benefits like free spending abroad or a fee-free overdraft
Cons
- Some accounts require you to pay in a high amount each month
- Interest rates aren’t amazing – you may benefit better with a switch incentive, depending on how much you’ll have in your account.
Cashback current accounts
When it comes to cashback, there are three good options. Some of these have monthly fees though, so it’s worth working out how much you’d expect to get in cashback before signing up for one.
Santander 123 Lite
Santander offers one of the best cashback accounts on the market. It literally pays you to pay your bills, but not much.
The “123” aspect comes from the cashback amounts.
You get:
- 3% on phone, broadband, mobile and TV bills
- 2% on gas, electricity, Santander home insurance and life protection
- 1% on Santander mortgages, water and council tax
However, this is changing in October 2020 to:
- 3% on water
- 2% on gas, electricity, Santander home insurance and life protection
- 1% on Santander mortgages, phone, broadband, mobile, TV and council tax
Take a minute to list these bills and work out how much money that actually is. Would you need to move some household bills into your name to get the best out of it?
We did the maths with some averages based on a Finder writer’s bills for their 2-bedroom flat in London. Here are the sums:
| Bill | Reward | Monthly cost | Reward with Santander |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 3% | £35 | £1.05 |
| Gas and Electricity | 2% | £40 | £0.80 |
| Santander home insurance | 2% | £0 | £0 |
| Santander life protection | 2% | £0 | £0 |
| Santander mortgage | 1% | £0 | £0 |
| Phone | 1% | £25 | £0.25 |
| Broadband/TV | 1% | £40 | £0.40 |
| Council tax | 1% | £160 | £1.60 |
This all comes to a reward of £4.10, which, with a monthly cost of £2 for the account works out as £2.10 better off each month.
You can get up to £5 for each tier, so if you have a Santander mortgage or life and home insurance, it could work out well for you, but definitely do the sums first.
RBS Reward
RBS’s Reward account offers £5 in cashback for logging into online banking and paying direct debits. It’s also currently offering a £100 switch incentive. You need to pay in £1,250 per month and pay £2 per month to qualify.
Lloyds Club Lloyds account
This account doesn’t offer cashback exactly, but it does have benefits that you can choose from, including cinema tickets and magazine subscriptions. There’s also a nice little £100 switch incentive but the account costs £3 per month unless you pay in £1,500 each month.
Pros and cons of cashback accounts
Pros
- Get paid to pay your bills, or use your debit card
Cons
- Often have monthly fees
- You don’t get much in cashback in the grand scheme of things
How to choose the best current accounts
Which bank account is right for you will depend on what you’re looking for.
Consider:
- Fees. Are you looking for a fee-free account or would you like to pay fees for certain benefits?
- Travel insurance. Do you travel often? Work out how much you usually spend on insurance and see if you could get it cheaper as a packaged bank account.
- Overdrafts. Are you overdrawn? If so, go for one with a free overdraft and work on paying it off.
- Savings. If you’re planning on saving, you might want to consider an account that gives you access to a higher rate savings account or that has a good interest rate.
Overall service quality score for personal current accounts 2021
In January 2021 the FCA published its performance scorecard for personal current accounts. We have listed the results below.
| Ranking | Provider | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monzo | 86% |
| 2 | Starling Bank | 84% |
| 3 | First Direct | 83% |
| 4 | Metro Bank | 81% |
| 5 | Nationwide | 71% |
| 6= | Barclays | 62% |
| 6= | Halifax | 62% |
| 7 | Santander | 61% |
| 8= | Lloyds Bank | 60% |
| 8= | Virgin Money | 60% |
| 9 | HSBC UK | 59% |
| 10= | NatWest | 58% |
| 10= | Bank of Scotland | 58% |
| 11 | The Co-operative Bank | 57% |
| 12 | Yorkshire Bank | 56% |
| 13= | TSB | 51% |
| 13= | Clydesdale bank | 51% |
| 14 | Royal Bank of Scotland | 46% |
| 15 | Tesco Bank | 44% |
More guides on Finder
- Way Day 2021: Wayfair’s biggest sale of the year
Way Day 2021 is almost here! Find out what Way Day is, whether it’s worth it and what the best Way Day deals of 2021 are right here.
- Compare business bank accounts
Discover what business bank accounts offer and how to compare them to find the best account for you.
- Current accounts with cashback
Learn how current accounts with cashback work, whether they’re right for you and how to find the best current account.
- Compare current accounts with rewards
Discover how current accounts with rewards work, and how to choose the best one for you.
- Millionaire calculator: How long would it take to save a million?
Use our calculator to find out how long it would take you to save up a million pounds based on the interest on your savings account.
- Compare 10-year loans
Find out how to apply for a 10-year personal loan, and how to get the best rates.
- Santander balance transfer
Find out to transfer a balance using a Santander credit card, and compare 0% balance transfer offers.See how to transg
- Capital on Tap Business Credit Card review
Earn Avios or cashback on all your business spending with this business Visa from challenger Capital on Tap.
- Compare prepaid business cards in the UK 2021
Learn more about how prepaid business cards can be used to spend money with any retailer that accepts debit or credit cards.
- Compare free basic bank accounts (Fee-free)
Discover what a basic bank account is and how they compare to other types of bank accounts.