NatWest enjoys current account switching gains in year’s first quarter

From January to March the high street bank added almost 20,000 more current account holders to its books.

High street bank NatWest added almost 20,000 more current account holders in the year’s first quarter, more than any other bank, according to the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

It came at a time when the provider had a £150 switching incentive offer, which was removed in April.

“Rising living costs provide another reason for people to assess whether their existing current account is providing the right service for their needs, or whether moving to another current account might be a prudent move,” said David Piper, Head of Service Lines at Pay.UK, which owns and operates CASS.

Meanwhile, Nationwide BS and Starling Bank also gained a notable amount of new current account holders. Nationwide BS added 12,500 new current account holders, while Starling Bank added nearly 12,000 to its books.

The Current Account Switch Service saw a year-on-year uplift to annual switching volumes during the year’s first quarter.

Just over 850,000 switches took place during the 12-month period to March. In comparison, the year prior registered over 646,500 completions.  

“As life in the UK begins to return to its pre-pandemic form, we have seen an uplift in the numbers choosing to switch to a new current account,” said Piper.

“This trend could continue in 2022 with many looking to take advantage of rising interest rates and the cashback incentives that some providers are currently offering,” he explained.

While NatWest’s £150 switching incentive is no longer available, potential customers can still earn this amount by switching to first direct today.

To earn this amount from the digital bank, which is a division of HSBC, switchers will need to move to a 1^st Account and pay in at least £1,000 within the first three months.

The 1^st Account does not come with any fees and gives its users exclusive access to first direct’s Regular Saver account, which offers a rate of 3.50%.

Otherwise, Nationwide BS also has a cash incentive of £100 for those looking to switch to its collection of Flex Accounts. Existing Nationwide BS customers can enjoy £125 instead.

Finally, as mentioned in an article earlier this week, Virgin Money offer its users 20,000 Virgin Points when they move to their M account, M Plus or Club M account. Of particular note, all three accounts offer exclusive access to the current easy access market-leading rate.