Current Account Switch Service has full support

Tuesday 23rd July, 2013

The Payments Council has announced a list of banks and building societies that will be participating in the new Current Account Switch Service from September 2013. In total, 33 banks and building societies will be opting for the new scheme, including the ‘big four’ consisting of Barclays, HSBC, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and others such as NatWest and the Halifax.

When the new service launches in September, all of these current account providers will use the Current Account Switch Guarantee, detailing the benefits of the service, and will display the accompanying Trustmark. Both have been designed to give consumers trust and confidence when switching current accounts.

Adrian Kamellard, Chief Executive of the Payments Council, comments: "The Payments Council has worked closely with all of the financial institutions announced today to develop the Current Account Switch Service, which will make switching account from one bank or building society to another simple, reliable and hassle-free.

"Creating the Current Account Switch Service has involved massive systems changes on both a central and individual institution level. The new service, when launched in September, will deliver a significant step-change for current account switching in the UK, leading to more competition in the marketplace and greater choice for customers."

Key features of the new (fee) Current Account Switch Service include:

  • The switch will be completed in seven working days – the current process that can take between 18 and 30 working days
  • The customer can choose and agree the switch date with their new current account provider
  • All payments going out (e.g. Direct Debits) and those coming in (e.g. salary) will be moved from the old account to the new account
  • For 13 months payments accidentally made to the old account will be automatically redirected to the new account
  • The new Current Account Switch Guarantee means that you will receive a refund of interest and charges on your old and new current accounts if anything goes wrong with the switch.