Welcome to the Finder Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards 2021
The awards are decided by the only votes that really matter – yours. We asked current account customers of all the major UK 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 recommendation scores (the percentage of customers who said they’d recommend the brand to a friend).
And now, without further ado, the winners of Finder’s Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2021 are….(*drum roll, please*)
Banking Customer Satisfaction Winner:
Monzo
Digital-only challenger bank Monzo topped our customer satisfaction survey again this year, with a star rating of 5 out of 5 and the highest percentage of customers (89%) recommending it.
Monzo is the most popular challenger bank in the UK, with around 4 million customers. It offers digital-only current accounts, which now range from free to paid-for plans, and the standard version comes with a distinctive bright coral coloured debit card.
Nationwide is actually a building society rather than a bank, but it’s the largest one in the UK and is a big presence on the high street. In our survey, it also got 5 out of 5 stars for its current account offering, and an impressive 84% of its customers would recommend the brand to a friend.
Nationwide offers services such as savings accounts and mortgages, as well as a full range of current accounts, which include free bank accounts and paid-for packaged accounts, that come with benefits such as travel insurance.
Monzo is the most popular digital-only bank in the UK – and apparently for good reason, as it topped our survey again this year. Its app-based current accounts are packed with features, with customers in our survey highlighting the useful spending categorisation and savings pots tools.
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.
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.
With NatWest, you can choose between free and rewards accounts. This year, NatWest is the joint highest scoring of the big traditional banks in our survey, with customers praising both its in-branch service and digital features.
Posting the same scores as its high street peer NatWest, 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.
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 four out of five customers in our survey.
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 tools and ease of use.
Another big bank that got a solid score 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.
Barclay’s current accounts come with the option of earning rewards at selected retailers. In our survey, customers praised the bank’s “reliable” service, as well as its banking app.
Part of the wider Lloyds banking group, Halifax has several current account options, ranging from basic up to reward accounts. Many customers in our survey highlighted the quality of customer service and friendly staff.
Royal Bank of Scotland is NatWest’s sister bank. Just like its sibling, it offers a selection of current accounts, including rewards accounts that feature cashback on your bills.
HSBC has four current accounts in its roster depending on your personal circumstances and income. Long-standing customers in our survey were pleased with the customer service, although online and app banking had some mixed reviews.
Bank of Scotland is also 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, and customers in our survey were mostly pleased with its digital banking offering.
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 are free (up to a point, depending on which plan you’ve signed up to), and you can also set up a euro account for free.
Revolut’s multi-currency digital account is great for travelling and even better for sending money abroad. You can exchange and hold 30 different currencies for free and also use it as a standard UK current account – although you can’t deposit cash or cheques.
The TSB banking brand returned to the UK high street in 2013, but (along with other banks) it has been closing branches recently. Some customers in our survey had high praise for the “helpful” staff, while others highlighted the bank’s well-documented online banking issues.
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.
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. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Michelle Stevens is a deputy editor at Finder, specialising in banking, credit, loans and mortgages. She has a journalism degree from the University of Sheffield and has been a journalist for 15 years, writing on topics including fintech, payment systems and retail. In her spare time, Michelle likes to travel, explore new foodie experiences and attempt to improve her own culinary skills. See full bio
Michelle's expertise
Michelle has written 127 Finder guides across topics including:
You can open and use a Monese account in the UK and across Europe. We round up the fees and features of this app-based current account.
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