Nationwide Building Society, Barclays, and Lloyds Bank emerged as the top choices for customers switching their current accounts at the end of 2023, with Nationwide leading the pack, according to the latest figures from the Current Account Switch Service (Cass).
In the last quarter of the year, from October 1 to December 31, Nationwide boasted 163,363 net gains from full account switches. Barclays followed with a solid 12,823 net gains, while Lloyds Bank secured 5,800.
NatWest faced a significant exodus with 43,182 net losses, RBS saw 11,621 customers leave, Halifax had 41,144 departures, and Santander lost 34,581 account holders. It's important to note that these figures don't account for switches made outside of Cass, which offers a transfer of payments to new accounts and a guarantee against financial loss if issues arise during the switch.
Commenting on the trend, personal finance guru Andrew Hagger from Moneycomms.co.uk remarked, "Nationwide blew the competition away" in the final quarter. He pointed out that Nationwide's £200 switching incentive last autumn likely played a role in attracting a flood of new customers.
Hagger also noted, "Consumers are happy to jump ship for the next freebie particularly as people are still feeling the squeeze from higher bills." Meanwhile, research from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk revealed earlier this week that the allure of cash incentives for account switching seems to be waning.
First Direct's £175 switching offer, which kicked off on March 26, has now wrapped up as of Monday. This follows a trend of other banks withdrawing their cash incentives.
Alastair Douglas of TotallyMoney, commented: "If, and when cash bonuses return to market, let's just hope they're simple and easy to understand. Recently, we've seen some banks ask customers to jump through multiple hoops to secure the headline offer, including minimum transaction numbers, app logins, and even setting up a separate savings account."
"But whatever does happen, it's probably worth checking to see if you can secure improved rates, cheaper overdrafts and a better service elsewhere."
In the first three months of the year, Cass was instrumental in 320,364 account switches, taking its total to a whopping 10.6 million since its inception in 2013. Switching for small businesses and charities saw a 10% uptick compared to the same timeframe last year, with 7,075 making the switch in the quarter.
However, the overall number of switches this quarter didn't quite match up to the final quarter of 2023, which saw a higher 433,701 switches.
John Dentry, product guru at Pay. UK the company that runs Cass, said: "Cash incentives continue to be a highly effective way for banks to attract customers, but as we repeatedly see through our data, online or mobile app banking remains the top reason why people prefer their new account. The end of the financial year may have contributed to a spike in switching from businesses, as many spring clean their finances and set themselves up for a successful year ahead."
According to figures released by Cass, here are the net gains or losses in switches that banks experienced in Q4 of 2023. The provided data does not incorporate switches made outside the service and has been voluntarily provided by the banks:.
AIB Group (includes Allied Irish Bank brand switches): -807.
Bank Of Ireland: -563.
Bank of Scotland : -3,024.
Barclays: 12,823.
Co-operative Bank (includes Smile brand switches): -4,238.
Danske: -236.
Halifax: -41,144.
HSBC (includes First Direct brand switches): -3,263.
JP Morgan Chase: -3,055.
Lloyds Bank: 5,800.
Monzo: -5,336.
Nationwide: 163,363.
NatWest: -43,182.
RBS (includes Coutts and Isle of Man brand switches): -11,621.
Santander: -34,581.
Starling Bank: -1,712.
Triodos Bank: -25.
TSB: -10,917.
Ulster Bank: -2,587.
Virgin Money: -8,592.