Banking News

Consumers looking to gain cashback from a bank account switching offer will need to act quickly as three of the five deals currently available are due to end within the next four weeks.

NatWest, first direct, Halifax, Nationwide Building Society and Santander all have switching offer incentives at the moment, which can see consumers earn up to £130 in cashback.

NatWest’s switching offer is due to end in just 10 days’ time, on 2 December 2021. The offer sees customers earn £100 when they switch to a NatWest Select Account using the Current Accounts Switcher Service (CASS) before the end of the 2 December deadline. In order to be eligible for the cashback incentive, customers must credit £1,500 into the account and log into online or mobile banking*.

Meanwhile, those interested in the £130 cashback incentive from first direct have only until midnight tonight to apply. In order to earn the £130 first direct switching incentive, customers must switch to a 1st Account using CASS by the end of 22 November 2021 and credit £1,000 into the new account within three months*.

Consumers tempted by the £125 cash incentive from Halifax have three weeks left until the offer ends. Under the Halifax offer, customers can earn the cashback by switching to its Reward Account using CASS by 14 December 2021*.

The cashback offers from Nationwide and Santander do not currently have an end date.

Nationwide has a cashback incentive of up to £125 when consumers switch to its Flex Account. The switch must take place using CASS* and those opening a new account with Nationwide will get cashback of £100, while existing customers can earn £125 in cashback.

The cashback offer from Santander sees consumers earn £130 when they switch to its 123 Current Account. In order to be eligible for the cashback, customers must switch using CASS, as well as ensure two direct debits are set up, pay £1,000 into the account and log in using online or mobile banking within 60 days of switching*.

Along with the cashback offers, Virgin Money also has a switching offer that sees customers receive a £150 Virgin Experience Day Gift Card or a free luxury 12-bottle case of wine from Virgin Wines valued at £150 when they switch to its M Plus Account*.

Consumers looking to boost their income in the run-up to Christmas can earn £125 simply by switching to a Halifax bank account.

The switching offer, which was launched today, will end on 14 December 2021, and the £125 will be deposited into customers’ bank accounts within three days of the switch being completed.

In order to receive the money, consumers will need to switch to a Halifax Reward Account or Ultimate Reward Current Account using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) and transfer all active credits and debits from the old bank account to the new Halifax account (other terms and conditions may apply).

In addition to offering the £125 cashback for switching, both the Halifax Reward Account and Ultimate Reward Current Account allow customers to choose one reward from the following:

• Stream two movies a month throughout the year, worth up to £120
• One free cinema ticket a month (sent as vouchers to use when cinemas reopen) to catch the latest blockbusters at Vue cinemas across the UK.
• A choice of three digital magazines from a host of well-known titles, including
• Cosmopolitan
• Men’s Health
• Red
• Good Housekeeping
• Or customers can select a £5 monthly reward

The accounts also offer customers the opportunity to earn 15% cashback with selected retailers. In addition to this, the Ultimate Reward Current Account offers extra benefits including worldwide travel insurance and mobile phone insurance.

To receive these benefits, the Halifax Reward Account requires customers to deposit £1,500 into the account each month or pay a £3 monthly fee. The Ultimate Reward Current Account charges a £17 monthly fee.

first direct and NatWest have launched switching deals that will see consumers earn £100 or more in cashback when switching bank accounts.

From today, consumers who switch to a first direct 1st Account will be able to earn £100 in cashback if they switch using the Current Account Switching Service (CASS) and credit at least £1,000 into the account each month for the first three months*. 1st Account does not charge any monthly fees and has an interest-free buffer on overdrafts of £250. Customers who borrow more than this through their overdraft will be charged 39.90% EAR variable.

NatWest has also launched a switching offer which sees new and existing customers earn £150 if they switch and stay to a Select or Reward account. This switching offer is due to end on 2 December 2021. To be eligible for the cashback incentive customers must switch using CASS, as well as pay £1,500 into the account and log into online or mobile banking through the NatWest mobile app before 13 January 2022*. If all conditions are met, customers will have £100 credit in their bank account by 11 February 2022, and an additional credit of £50 will be made if 10 debit or credit transactions are made per calendar month between 1 January 2022 to 30 September 2022.

On Friday 15 October contactless payments will increase to £100 from the current limit of £45. Contactless payments have more than tripled in the space of 18 months, with shoppers having a limit of just £30 in March 2020, which increased to £45 in April 2020.

The roll-out of the new £100 limit will begin on 15 October, however it may take some retailers longer to update all their payment terminals. Commenting on the increase, David Postings, chief executive at UK Finance, said: “Contactless payment has proved very popular with consumers and an increasing number of transactions are being made using contactless technology. The increase in the limit to £100 will allow people to pay for higher value transactions like their weekly shop or filling up their car with fuel. The payments industry has worked hard to put in place the infrastructure to enable retailers to update their payments systems so they can start to offer their customers this new higher limit.”