More than 1.1m Britons have moved their bank account to a different bank since the introduction of the UK’s switching service in September 2013. The Current Account Switch Service guarantees an account switch in seven working days.
This is an increase of 19% on the previous period’s figure of 926,000 switches, according to data released by the Payments Council, which represents the UK’s payments industry. The data reflects the first eleven months of the service.
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However, the Council did not disclose a breakdown of the current accounts picked by those switching.
Gerard Lemos, executive chairman of the Payments Council, said: "The service was designed to make life easier for customers by removing barriers to switching, with the aim of boosting competition in the banking sector.
"It’s made great ground by empowering customers with the ability to switch their bank account easily and quickly."
The Current Account Switch Service, which was introduced in September last year, slashed the time taken to switch from one bank to another from an average of 18 to 30 days to seven days.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the Payments Council’s data, 88% of clients said they found changing providers easy since the scheme came into place.
However, nearly a third of people said they haven’t heard of the initiative.
