Current account switching levels rise in Q3 as consumers explore digital options and switching deals

• 212,600 switches took place between July and September 2021. This is 29,855 more than in Q2, and represents a year-on-year increase of 56 per cent from the third quarter of 2020
• Over 7.6 million switches have now been completed since launch and awareness and satisfaction levels for the service sit at 75 per cent and 91 per cent respectively
• Halifax was the participant with the highest net gains in Q2 2021, followed by Starling Bank and Virgin Money. Monzo Bank and Lloyds Bank were fourth and fifth.

Today, the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) today publishes its Q3 2021 Dashboard¹ reporting the latest switching figures and trends. Between July and September 2021 212,600 switches took place, an increase of 29,855 switches on the previous quarter and 76,025 (56 per cent growth) more than between July and September 2020. The rise in switching continues as bank incentives to switch re-enter the market and as consumers increasingly choose digital banking options. A total of 722,594 switches were processed by the service in the past 12 months.

The Current Account Switch Service has facilitated over 7.6 million account switches and has successfully redirected more than 113.4 million payments since its launch in 2013.

Across the Current Account Switch Service’s 49 participants, Halifax (16,684) had the largest net switching gain in Q2 2021 (participant data is collected three months in arrears). This was followed by Starling Bank (13,720) and Virgin Money (6,915). Monzo (5,707) and Lloyds Bank (3,875) take fourth and fifth place, respectively, for net switching gains.

In Q3, the service continued to facilitate easy, quick, and guaranteed switching, ensuring 99.7 per cent of switches were successfully completed within seven working days. Additionally, awareness and satisfaction of the service remained above target at 75 per cent and 91 per cent respectively.

While switching incentives drove switching activity in part, the latest data² for Q3 2021 shows that service related, non-financial reasons, were the most cited reasons for favouring a new current account. This has been the case for the last four quarters, although the percentage given to each of the top reasons has increased. The top reasons cited by consumers for preferring their new current accounts included: online banking facilities (52 per cent), stronger customer service (42 per cent) and ease of mobile or app-based banking systems (39 per cent). Favourable interest rates (23 per cent) overtook location of branches (22 per cent) as the fourth most cited reason on comparison with Q2 2021.

73 per cent of those who completed a switch in Q3 using the Current Account Switch Service say they prefer their new current account, an increase of 3 per cent on Q2 2021, and only 2 per cent stated that their new account is worse. Overall, 91 per cent of CASS users were satisfied with the switching process and 89 per cent would recommend using CASS.

The Current Account Switch Service’s Confidence Index achieved a score of 80 per cent in Q3 2021 – the second highest score ever recorded. The Confidence Index is the average proportion of CASS users agreeing with each of the following four statements: ‘it would be easy for me to switch’, ‘it would be quick for me to switch’, ‘I think it is a secure and reliable process’, and ‘any problems would be dealt with effectively’.