The UK Payments Council’s recent report reveals that the number of Britons switching current accounts have increased by 16% year-on-year, with 592,695 people changing banks between January to the end of June, this year.

According to mid-year results published for new current account switch service, over two-thirds of people (67%) in the UK said that they are now aware of the Current Account Switch Service, which is up from 64% at the start of 2014.

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During the same half yearly period, customer confidence in the new service remained high, increasing slightly from 63% to 65%, the report highlights.

There are approximately 49 million current accounts in the UK, which means approximately 1.2% customers with current accounts switched bank in the six months to June.

The Payments Council chief executive Adrian Kamellard said, "The Current Account Switch Service set out to remove the fear-factor from switching and these results suggest that it is doing exactly that.

"Awareness and confidence levels are up as individuals, small businesses and charities are getting the message that switching has become easy and straightforward."

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"Competition is growing as existing providers are upping their offerings and challenger banks are competing to attract new customers. This all amounts to greater choice and good news for customers, Kamellard added.

The Current Account Switch Service is free to use and can be completed in seven working days, against previous process that could take between 18 and 30 working days.

The new Current Account Switch Guarantee ensures that the customer will receive a refund of interest and charges on their old and new current accounts if anything goes wrong with the switch.