More than 376,000 people moved to a new bank in the final three months of last year, according to figures issued by Pay.UK, which runs the Current Account Switching Service (CASS). That compares with 250,000 in the same period in 2021. In November alone, just over 157,000 people used CASS to make the change.

High street banks benefitted from the most new custom, with Santander (29,000 new customers) and HSBC (13,000) out in front. But digital banks Starling Bank (9,000) and Monzo Bank (6,000) were just behind them.

Online banking

The figures show online banking was the main reason customers chose to switch, with 46% of those asked saying that was why they moved accounts. Customer service (42%) was the next most influential factor, and 40% said easier-to-use mobile banking was a major factor in their decision.

CASS was set up 10 years ago to help customers move accounts more easily and to bring switching time down to seven days from 30. Since then, it estimates it has facilitated nearly nine million switches. The growth of challenger digital banks and fintech solutions has played its part too.