• Consumers were asked to meet up to 6 different requirements for a bank switch deal in 2024, compared to a maximum of just 2 requirements in 2020.
• The average number of requirements across all offers has nearly doubled between 2020 and 2024.
• Less than a quarter of Brits (24%) have moved current accounts to take advantage of a switch offer.

23 September 2024, LONDON –

Consumers are facing an increasing number of hurdles to qualify for current account switching offers. New research from personal finance comparison site finder.com revealed that the maximum number of extra criteria a consumer needs to fulfil to get a bank switch deal has leapt from 2 to 6 in the past 4 years.

Finder analysed bank switching deals on the market in the 4-year period* to determine how many unique requirements** consumers would have to meet before getting their cash reward. The deal with the most criteria in 2020 had a total of 2 steps, however, by 2024, this has risen substantially to 6. The researchers also found that the average number of requirements across all bank switching deals in a year had increased in the same period, almost doubling from 1.6 to 2.9.

Requirements for deals live this year included transferring direct debits, making 5+ debit card payments, joining rewards schemes, opening an additional savings account and depositing into that savings account. This is a major change from 4 years ago when almost all switching deals simply asked you to log into the banking app and deposit a certain amount.

This analysis comes as a survey by Finder reveals that more than three-quarters of Brits (76%) have never switched a current account to take advantage of a switching offer. 12% gave having too many different requirements to meet as a reason for not switching while 14% said the cash rewards were not worth the effort required.

Switching stats highlight why banks might have become stricter with conditions

One reason for banks becoming more stringent could be to clamp down on so-called “serial switchers” who are opening a current account solely to take advantage of the money offered, then swiftly leaving for a better deal.

Figures from the Current Account Switching Service (CASS) showed that between July and September 2023, when NatWest had a £200 deal running, over 94,000 people switched to the bank and they topped the net gains leaderboard for that quarter.

However, during the next 3-month period (between October and December 2023), the bank lost over 50,000 customers to account switches, 54% of the previous gains. This gave them net losses of over 43,000, going from top to bottom of the leaderboard in just one quarter. During this same timeframe, Nationwide launched a £200 switching offer and gained over 190,000 new customers.

Louise Bastock, money expert at finder.com, said:

“Read the T&Cs for a bank switch offer these days and you might find your head spinning with all the strings attached! We’re in a new, stricter era for switching deals, with banks seemingly looking to put off “serial switchers” with additional rules, but they are still a great way to earn extra cash.

“At the moment, you could earn a lump sum of £175 from the latest first direct switch deal, when you complete a full switch to a first direct 1st Account and meet all of their eligibility criteria within 45 days of opening your account. A huge draw of this account is access to the first direct Regular Saver, which offers an extremely competitive 7% AER fixed for the first 12 months and only on balances up to £3,600.”

“Even with the extra rules, switching offers are a comparatively quick way to get a cash boost. To earn £175 in interest, you’d have to leave £1,000 in a savings account earning 4% AER for over 4 years.

“With so many hoops to jump through these days, the key to bagging the most cash is preparation. I’d urge people to thoroughly check the eligibility criteria and work out in advance whether you can meet them. Organise your finances so any direct debits or minimum monthly transactions are being processed on time, and pop any deadlines in your calendar so you can keep track of your progress.”

To see the research in full, visit: https://www.finder.com/uk/banking/current-account-statistics#research

Methodology:

* Researchers combed through archives of bank switching deals that had been advertised between January 2020 and August 2024. They pulled the requirements from the terms and conditions of the deal. It is not guaranteed that every single bank switch deal has been included, but care has been taken to include as many as could be found and analysed.

** Reference to requirements in this research include only those considered unique or not present in every offer. Universal requirements were not counted – these included being a UK resident, opening the eligible account, closing the old account, and submitting the switching request using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).