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Finder Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023
Find out which UK banking providers offer the best current accounts, according to their customers.
Welcome to the Finder Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023
These awards are decided by the only vote that matters – yours. We asked current account customers of all the major UK banks to tell us what they thought about their services and features, and here’s what they said.
The winners
The winners are based on both overall satisfaction scores (star ratings) and recommendation scores (the percentage of customers who said they’d recommend the brand to a friend).
So, without further ado, here are the winners of Finder’s Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2023. (*drum roll, please*)
Banking Customer Satisfaction Winner
Starling
Digital bank Starling took the top spot in our banking category this year. An impressive 94% of the bank’s current account holders that we surveyed said they would recommend the bank to a friend, and its customer satisfaction rating was 5 out of 5.
Banking Customer Satisfaction Highly Commended
Nationwide
The UK’s largest building society Nationwide was just behind Starling, earning itself a high commendation in our awards this year. It also scored 5 out of 5 stars and polled a “would recommend” score of 90% in our customer survey.
Best banks for current account customer satisfaction in 2023
| 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 88% |  | Another big bank that also got 5 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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 3 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 74% |  | The TSB banking brand returned to the UK high street in 2013. Some customers in our survey rated 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. | Read our review |
| ★★★★★ | 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 |
Customer satisfaction ratings methodology
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. 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.
Banking ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
The customer satisfaction score is based on a survey of 2,944 customers carried out in December 2022.
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