The best and worst banks revealed – the winner’s not Lloyds or NatWest
DELIVERING top-notch customer satisfaction is key when it comes to choosing who we bank with.
That’s why the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is back with its latest rankings, revealing which banks are smashing it – and which ones are letting us down.
JP Morgan's Chase has overtaken Monzo as Britain's favourite bank, as digital providers continue to outperform the high street giants, according to a survey of thousands of banking customers.
The CMA published the findings of its latest survey of some 23,000 people in Britain and Northern Ireland, carried out by Ipsos.
Among Britons, Chase secured the top spot after first entering the survey for its personal current accounts six months ago.
Some 81% of customers said they would be likely to recommend the account to friends and family, the survey found.
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This put it ahead of the 80% who said the same for Monzo, which has lead the pack for the previous iterations of the twice-yearly poll.
Starling Bank, a fellow digital bank which was founded more than a decade ago by technology entrepreneur Anne Boden, ranked third for overall service quality.
None of the "big four" banking groups managed to secure a spot in the top five rankings.
Barclays came in at tenth place, HSBC at thirteenth, Lloyds Bank at sixth, and NatWest at eleventh.
The CMA made it compulsory for large banks and building societies to take part in the surveys, which go to about 1,000 customers in Britain and 500 customers in Northern Ireland for each provider.
Chase UK's chief executive Kuba Fast, said: "Our focus at Chase is on providing our customers with an exceptional experience at every opportunity, so we’re delighted to be recognised by our customers for the quality of our service."
With the backing of its US parent company JP Morgan, Chase launched in Britain in 2021 and has since built up about 2.5million customers.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was at the bottom of the key ranking for another year, with 46% of customers likely to recommend its personal current account to friends and family.
Virgin Money narrowly avoided last place, ranking sixteenth, while The Co-operative Bank placed slightly higher at fifteenth.
Meanwhile, Monzo was the highest-rated bank for its online and mobile banking services, as well as for its overdraft services.
Nationwide Building Society came in at number one for its branch services, amid the lender’s pledge to keep its branches open until at least 2028.
In Northern Ireland, Monzo was the top bank for overall service quality, followed by Starling Bank and Nationwide.
Separate data published last month found that Monzo, which is now the UK's seventh-largest bank with some 11 million customers, gained more than 5,000 customers via the Current Account Switch Service between July and September last year.
The service automatically moves payments from a person’s old account to a new one – with the figures not including customers switching banks outside the service.
On the other hand, Royal Bank of Scotland lost more than 5,000 current account customers through the switching service over the same period.
Customers being forgotten
Customers are being forgotten, writes The Sun's Head of Consumer, Tara Evans...
With branches closing and online banking taking over, customers can be left feeling cut off.
We wrote about forgotten customers back in July on our Sun Money pages in our weekly newspaper section.
People like David Elkins, 82, a retired service engineer from Calne, Wilts, who saw his HSBC branch close in 2023 and had to travel ten miles to the next nearest.
He has a kidney issue and needs frequent dialysis, making it impractical.
Banking hubs are emerging as a solution to address the gaps left by widespread closures - but there are not enough of them.
There are plans for 203 of these, but so far there are only 96.
You can use one of the Post Office’s 11,635 branches to perform basic banking tasks, but they don’t allow you to open or close accounts for example.
SWITCH AND EARN
Banks are always looking for ways to lure in new customers, and cash bonuses are often the go-to tactic.
Right now, First Direct is leading the pack with a generous £175 welcome bonus for new customers.
Nationwide is matching that with its own £175 deal, while TSB is offering a £100 incentive.
Nationwide has a £175 offer and TSB is giving out £100.
Meanwhile, The Co-operative Bank is sweetening the pot with a £75 upfront bonus, plus an extra £25 a month for three months for those signing up for a current account.
Deals like this come and go regularly so its worth moving quickly if you think it's for you, as they can be pulled at any time.
But beware – you'll need to tick off a list of strict requirements before that free cash lands in your new bank account.
For instance, if you're eyeing up First Direct’s £175 offer, there are a few hoops to jump through.
To bag the bonus, you’ll need to deposit at least £1,000, make a minimum of five debit card payments, and log in to online or mobile banking – all within 45 days of opening your account.
On top of that, the switching bonus is strictly for new customers – and there's a catch.
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It's only available to those who've never held a First Direct product before.
What's more, if you've opened an HSBC current account on or after January 1, 2018, you're out of luck, as both banks are part of the same group.
How do I switch bank accounts?
SWITCHING bank accounts is a simple process and can usually be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up - there's a full list on CASS' website.
Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days.
You don't have to remember to move direct debits across when moving, as this is done for you.
All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you're moving.
There are a few things you can do before switching though, including choosing your switch date and transferring any old bank statements to your new account.
You should get in touch with your existing bank for any old statements.
When switching current accounts, consider what other perks might come with joining a specific bank or building society.
Some banks offer 0% overdrafts up to a certain limit, and others might offer better rates on savings accounts.
And some banks offer free travel or mobile phone insurance with their current accounts - but these accounts might come with a monthly fee.