When will there be switch bonuses?

Zanderman

steven141 said:

I think that the issue is that nowadays much more people are looking to save money or make more money due to the cost of living and so banks have probably seen their highest number of payouts recently. The co-operative bank had to withdraw their offer after just a small number of days last month due to the unprecedented demand. 

Have the Coop actually said that was why the offer was short-lived? I think someone on the forum reported being told that by customer services, but has there been a more definitive and official statement to that effect? 

It seems to me unlikely that the the Coop would be so naïve that they would pull an offer after just 5 days because they didn't realise the demand.

The dynamics of switching offers are, surely, fairly well known by now and Coop had a lot of experience recently with their two more lengthy referral switching offers, so they're hardly rookies in the game.  But perhaps they are that naïve.

Though there are other explanations - it may have always been intended to be short-lived, or they may have changed their minds on the terms and so pulled it early because of that, or lots of other reasons that only the Coop know! 

HillStreetBlues

Bridlington1 said:

I'd agree in the sense that I don't think most would switch a current account for the money alone, but my point is most of the people I've met prioritise convenience and customer service above all else when dealing with a bank. If they haven't had any issues with their current bank before they most likely wouldn't consider switching to another bank, even if they were offered £200.

But if someone has had issues with their only bank for whatever reason, be it a charge they've incurred that was perceived as unfair or even if they've just had a payment blocked (I seem to recall there was a thread on here a while back where this was the reason why someone was switching) they could well decide to switch on this basis alone. In this scenario they would then be looking at other banks to switch to. If they are undecided over which one to switch to and one suddenly starts offering £200 to switch to them and the other offers nothing the £200 could well be the deciding factor.

Yes you will invariably get some (myself included) who will quite happily switch a donor account as soon as they see an offer they are eligible for and not make the bank much (if any) money as a result but all the bank needs to do is get enough profitable customers switching to them and overall they will make money from the switching offer in the long run. Quite what the distribution between these two groups of possible switchers (and everything in between) is and how profitable/unprofitable each group is I do not know.

I always like to keep tat least two account,(have three atm) one for money in the other moneys out
When I do switch I do look for offers as I have personally found all banks to be much the same.
I'm not a serial switcher, normally something spurs me to switch one of my accounts, and can be for different reasons.
I normally switch when a local branch closes, but my last switch was because I didn't like the new branding (Nationwide)
I just found out Lloyds (3rd account) are closing my local branch,  so will switch when an offer comes up.

MACKEM99

Emmia said:

eskbanker said:

kmb500 said:

Hi, I can't find any switch bonuses at the moment. I know at certain times of the year the switch bonuses all disappear. Is this one of those times? When can I expect switch bonuses to be made available again?

There isn't a predictable calendar of when they are and aren't available, so you'll just have to wait and keep an eye out for offers as and when they return.

kmb500 said:

I am very eager to leave Nationwide as the card reader crap is driving me up the wall and means I am not paying people that I owe money!

If you literally mean that your card reader isn't working, have you asked them about it?

I think it's the hassle of using a physical reader rather than an app to authorise 

Like popping your card in and pressing a few buttons!😄

Bazzalona13295

Zanderman said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Ever so slightly off topic but how do banks make these switches pay? Especially as there are so many who use switches as a means to make money.

The purpose of the switching incentives is not, necessarily. to make them "pay" in any direct way. They are an initiative to gain market share and/or improve statistics (for a particular period) on market share.

So they are a form of advertising and, almost certainly, corporate target-keeping. Even if that target is only temporarily reached (as some people switch away again) or is illusory (as some people never really switch their main account).

Advertising budgets are huge. And difficult to fathom in cost-benefit terms.

It's all expensive, but how much new business does a series of television ads generate? A complete re-branding? A switching incentive scheme? All banks do at least some of these from time to time. Only the banks know (and some of that knowing will be guesswork) whether they are cost-effective.

I find it very interesting. Obviously market share is important purely because without any form of client base you're going to struggle, however its the statistical analysis which intrigues me.

When you talk about these potentially being temporary (which they certainly are in some cases to a greater or lesser degree) and in particular illusory, those are the benefits to me I don't fully understand.

Thanks for your reply though.

Zanderman

Bazzalona13295 said:

Zanderman said:

Bazzalona13295 said:

Ever so slightly off topic but how do banks make these switches pay? Especially as there are so many who use switches as a means to make money.

The purpose of the switching incentives is not, necessarily. to make them "pay" in any direct way. They are an initiative to gain market share and/or improve statistics (for a particular period) on market share.

So they are a form of advertising and, almost certainly, corporate target-keeping. Even if that target is only temporarily reached (as some people switch away again) or is illusory (as some people never really switch their main account).

Advertising budgets are huge. And difficult to fathom in cost-benefit terms.

It's all expensive, but how much new business does a series of television ads generate? A complete re-branding? A switching incentive scheme? All banks do at least some of these from time to time. Only the banks know (and some of that knowing will be guesswork) whether they are cost-effective.

I find it very interesting. Obviously market share is important purely because without any form of client base you're going to struggle, however its the statistical analysis which intrigues me.

When you talk about these potentially being temporary (which they certainly are in some cases to a greater or lesser degree) and in particular illusory, those are the benefits to me I don't fully understand.

Thanks for your reply though.

An increase in switched accounts, however temporary, enables a bank to declare, in its annual report, that XXXX number of people switched their accounts to us in 202X.  And that number may have been a pre-set target for the year, so is now a met target, and possibly even linked to director bonuses. The fact that it might only be temporary, or not actually main accounts, doesn't matter in that respect. 

But, as others have said above, on this forum we get a biased impression of how many switches are temporary or illusory main accounts, as this forum is frequented by many who are prepared to go to some trouble to maximise those switching incentives. 

Our experience on here is therefore also illusory - we are not seeing the whole picture, probably a mere fraction of what's actually happening. We have no idea of how many people switch their actual main account and then do actually stick with the new bank.  

HillStreetBlues

Zanderman said:

An increase in switched accounts, however temporary, enables a bank to declare, in its annual report, that XXXX number of people switched their accounts to us in 202X.  And that number may have been a pre-set target for the year, so is now a met target, and possibly even linked to director bonuses. The fact that it might only be temporary, or not actually main accounts, doesn't matter in that respect. 

But, as others have said above, on this forum we get a biased impression of how many switches are temporary or illusory main accounts, as this forum is frequented by many who are prepared to go to some trouble to maximise those switching incentives. 

Our experience on here is therefore also illusory - we are not seeing the whole picture, probably a mere fraction of what's actually happening. We have no idea of how many people switch their actual main account and then do actually stick with the new bank.  

I do feel that is mostly likely as it seems set up that way.
A incentive could be £7.50pm for 24 months,  maybe less of a take up, but a longer stay with bank, but they go with a larger amount upfront.
 

kmb500

MACKEM99 said:

Emmia said:

eskbanker said:

kmb500 said:

Hi, I can't find any switch bonuses at the moment. I know at certain times of the year the switch bonuses all disappear. Is this one of those times? When can I expect switch bonuses to be made available again?

There isn't a predictable calendar of when they are and aren't available, so you'll just have to wait and keep an eye out for offers as and when they return.

kmb500 said:

I am very eager to leave Nationwide as the card reader crap is driving me up the wall and means I am not paying people that I owe money!

If you literally mean that your card reader isn't working, have you asked them about it?

I think it's the hassle of using a physical reader rather than an app to authorise 

Like popping your card in and pressing a few buttons!😄

It's the hassle of being tied to the reader. It's simply embarrassing when I can't pay someone because my card reader is at home. Also I've lost the card reader several times.

pridehappy

Lloyds Bank just started one today, wouldn’t recommend at all though on a customer service point of view.

Nationwide have just got rid of the card readers in the app, and seem to be improving gradually. 

However, there’s little other choice at the moment. I’d wait until more become available if you still want to move and give it a shot.

Bridlington1

pridehappy said:

Lloyds Bank just started one today, wouldn’t recommend at all though on a customer service point of view.

Nationwide have just got rid of the card readers in the app, and seem to be improving gradually. 

However, there’s little other choice at the moment. I’d wait until more become available if you still want to move and give it a shot.

First of all for balance barring receiving an LBG lifetime ban, I've never had any issues with Lloyds's customer service. On the few occasions I've contacted Lloyds, either in branch or by phone, they've always been helpful enough and haven't stood out as being any better or worse than most of the other big banks I've dealt with. They're like any other bank, some will have had a bad experience with them, others will have banked with them for years without any issues.

Secondly if you're just going after a switching incentive then it doesn't typically matter what the customer service is like anyway. Most of the time you can open an account, switch, get the free money and then switch out again when someone else comes up with a switching offer you can get without ever needing to speak to anyone.

ClaireBearClaire

Does anyone know when First Direct stopped the £175 switch bonus? I'm sure I saw it on the travel debit card section, but I could have been dreaming it up by looking at too many figures