Almost 200,000 current accounts switched during first three months of the year

[Deleted User]

Olinda99 said:

I agree with @Zanderman

It's one thing to switch a spare or donor account (as I have done many many times) and quite another to switch your 'main' account (however you define that) - which I have not done for 20 yrs.

Perhaps you're happy with your legacy current account. The CASS does minimise issues if you aren't and wish to move provider. 

born_again

Thrugelmir said:

What a huge waste of productive time and resources.. 

Marketing are always very proud of the fact that offering a bribe to get people to join boosts customers. They are always happy to boast how many new customers they acquired over the year.
What they never mention. Even when questioned by staff in the annual update meetings is why despite the number of people joining do we still have exactly the same number of customers 12 months later...

So it has cost a lot of money for nothing. As the vast majority simply leave to another bank for another bribe..
Knowing the real reason would help target people better. 

eskbanker

born_again said:

Thrugelmir said:

What a huge waste of productive time and resources.. 

Marketing are always very proud of the fact that offering a bribe to get people to join boosts customers. They are always happy to boast how many new customers they acquired over the year.
What they never mention. Even when questioned by staff in the annual update meetings is why despite the number of people joining do we still have exactly the same number of customers 12 months later...

Fortunately the switching service statistics are published on a quarterly basis, showing both gains and losses to illustrate the net position by bank:

https://newseventsinsights.wearepay.uk/media/hlqpmu55/switching-dashboard-issue-33.pdf

born_again said:
So it has cost a lot of money for nothing. 

Not really a valid conclusion - it cost a lot of money to fulfil a regulatory mandate to encourage competition by enabling easier movement between providers, but it's inherently a zero-sum game so, even if your bank hasn't 'won', that doesn't negate the success of the initiative when viewed at an industry level.

Having said that, it's still only about 1-1.5% of accounts that are switched each year, which is some way below what was hoped for, despite the self-congratulatory tone of the Pay UK press releases that MSE gleefully regurgitates....

born_again said:

As the vast majority simply leave to another bank for another bribe..
Knowing the real reason would help target people better.

The above CASS dashboard summarises the main reasons at a market level:

The top four reasons people rate their new account as better than their old account remain service related, non-financial reasons, as has been the case for the previous year. Online banking (51%), mobile banking/ banking app ease (41%), customer service (38%) and location of branches (24%) were listed as the top reasons for people preferring their new current account.

although it's not clear if the relevant survey included "because they threw money at me to join" as one of the answers!

Rob5342

Zanderman said:

The big question, that the stats don't tell us, is how many of those switches are of 'main' accounts i.e .how many are people actively leaving their old main bank and trying out a new one. 

My wife and I switched our main joint account to Monzo for the budgeting features, and switched another 3 or 4 accounts each for the switching bonus.

It would be interesting to see how many are actually main accounts. Most people I know have an irrational bond to their bank or utility companies, and when I point out better options they agree they look better but say they will stay as they are becuase they like their current one.I think I read somewhere that on average people stay with their bank longer than their partner.

eskbanker

Rob5342 said:

It would be interesting to see how many are actually main accounts.

But, as highlighted earlier, there's no agreed definition of 'main' account - many operate a dual account model of paying salary into one and then bills from another, for example, each of which could be argued to be the 'main' one.

Rob5342 said:
I think I read somewhere that on average people stay with their bank longer than their partner.

Except for many MSE forum members of course, who pride themselves on financial polygamy and/or promiscuity!

jimjames

grandadgolfer said:

orn_again said:

Wonder what the % are of the switchers between.
The real reason to switch. Poor service & not happy with your bank.
or
Go on then I'll take the bribe 🤣

Took the bribes but still haven't changed my main account 

In my case took the bribes and switched current account to one that didn't pay any bribe!