Do i have to close my current account if i switch?

Chris_P_2

I have an existing HSBC current acount . I want to keep this account and keep having my wage paid into it.

If I set up a new current accout and move all my DDs across, can i do this without closing HSBC?

I think I read that the current account swith involves closing the existing account?

YorkshireBoy

Only if you switch using the current account switch service (CASS) does the old account get closed.

You can do a 'partial switch' instead, which doesn't close the old account. However, you're on your own if things go wrong with DDs etc, as you don't get the protection you do with a CASS switch.

Alternatively, simply open the new account and switch all your payments yourself manually, on a date or dates to suit you.

agrinnall

If you do it without using the Current Account Switching System then yes, you can keep the original account open. You would have to contact all of the DD originators yourself to advise them of the new account details. And the new account holding bank would have no responsibility for any errors you made. It sounds complicated but until recently it's what we all had to do when moving to a new bank.

The alternative would be to open a second account at HSBC (if they let you), tell your employer to pay your wages into that account, then use CASS to switch the original one.

Chris_P_2

agrinnall wrote: »

The alternative would be to open a second account at HSBC (if they let you), tell your employer to pay your wages into that account, then use CASS to switch the original one.

Thats a great idea.
Thanks

YorkshireBoy

Chris_P wrote: »

Thats a great idea.

It's not such a great idea if the original HSBC account is your longest held/only current account though, as it'll impact the stability aspect of any credit assessment made on you by lenders.