Welcome to the Finder Banking Customer Satisfaction Awards 2022
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 (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 2022 are… (*drum roll, please*)
Banking Customer Satisfaction Winner:
Halifax
High street bank Halifax took the top spot in our banking category this year. 88% of the current account holders that we surveyed would recommend the bank to a friend, and its customer satisfaction rating was 5 out 5.
Banking Customer Satisfaction Highly Commended:
Starling
Digital challenger bank Starling was only just behind Halifax, 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 87% in our customer survey.
Best banks for current account customer satisfaction in 2022
Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Issuer | Review | |
---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | 88% | Part of the wider Lloyds banking group, Halifax has several current account options, ranging from basic accounts up to reward accounts. Many customers in our survey highlighted the quality of both its customer service and its mobile banking app. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 87% | 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 functionality and ease of use. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 86% | With NatWest, you can choose between free current accounts and paid-for rewards accounts. This high street bank made it into the top three this year, with the customers we polled praising its reliable customer service, as well as its online and mobile banking. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 84% | Another big bank that also got five 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 | |
★★★★★ | 84% | 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 | |
★★★★★ | 83% | 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 | |
★★★★★ | 83% | 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 | |
★★★★★ | 83% | 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 | |
★★★★★ | 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 | |
★★★★★ | 79% | Revolut’s multi-currency digital account is good for travelling and 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. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 78% | 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 four out of five customers in our survey. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 78% | 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 | |
★★★★★ | 78% | HSBC has three 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 | |
★★★★★ | 72% | The TSB banking brand returned to the UK high street in 2013. Some customers in our survey rated the friendly staff, while others highlighted the bank’s recent branch closures. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 72% | Virgin Money is a relative newcomer to the current account market, launching its offering 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 | |
★★★★★ | 74% | 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. Its customers in our survey were mostly pleased with its digital banking offering. | Read our review | |
★★★★★ | 68% | 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 2021, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on current accounts. 2,282 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 banking provider 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 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 2,282 customers carried out in December 2021.
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