Switch Guarantee causes 1.2m bank account switches
15/10/2014
1.2 million bank accounts were switched this year, helped by a government backed scheme created to generate more competition in the bank account market.
The “switch guarantee” brought in new regulations, where consumers can now move their bank account to another provider and are guaranteed to have all existing incoming and outgoing payments transferred from their old account to their new account within seven days, rather than 30 days.
Since September, when the scheme was introduced, 1.2 million people have transferred, according to a survey from The Payments Council. 69% of people are now aware of the service, but the switch rate still remains a fraction of the 46 million current accounts in the UK.
Chancellor George Osborne said:
“A central part of our long-term economic plan has been to reform banking to make it easier to switch bank accounts. [This] data shows that plan is working"
Andrew Hagger, of website Moneycomms, said:
"Despite the best efforts of consumer groups and comparison sites it still remains a challenging task for consumers to find the best bank account for their circumstances,
"There are many areas to for a customer to consider before moving banks, particularly if it is a move driven purely by a short-term incentive."
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