How bank switching offers work

A bank switching offer is a one-off reward a bank pays you for moving your current account to it. Most of the big names run them at one time or another, and the money on the table is real: independent guidance puts the typical one-off cash payment at £50 to £200¹, while recent offers from individual banks include £200 from NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Danske Bank², and one case handled by the Financial Ombudsman involved a £250 incentive⁴. Some offers add vouchers or other perks on top of the cash.

The catch is that the money is conditional. You normally have to move your account using the Current Account Switch Service, close your old account, pay in a minimum amount within a set window, and sometimes move a set number of direct debits or log in to the bank's app. Miss a condition, or fall into one of the exclusions (a previous bonus from the same banking group, for instance), and the payment may never arrive. This page explains how the offers work, what the conditions look like, who gets left out, and what to do if a bonus is not paid.

What a switching offer is and what it pays

Switching schemes exist to let consumers move their payment accounts from one payment service provider to another, as the Payment Systems Regulator puts it⁹. Banks use cash incentives to encourage that movement: many banks offer a one-off cash payment if you switch to them, ranging from £50 to £200¹. Some banks and building societies may also offer other sweeteners alongside the cash, such as lower overdraft fees or a better interest rate¹⁰.

The offers are marketing, and they are time-limited and targeted. A bank will usually tie a bonus to one or two named accounts, run it for a few months, and withdraw it. Santander's £240 offer for its Everyday Current Account, for example, ran from 1 September until 7 October 2026², and its previous £180 offer ran from 1 April to 31 July 2026². Lloyds' £200 offer requires the account to be opened between 17 September and 9 December 2026, with the switch started by 9 December 2026³.

The size of the bonus also depends on the account you pick. Premier accounts, which usually require a large amount of money paid in or held with the bank, can carry bigger incentives than standard accounts. The conditions section below covers what you have to do to earn the payment.

Switch bonuses: from £100 to £240, and more on premier accounts

The headline numbers move around, but recent offers cluster in a fairly narrow band. Lloyds pays £200 for switching to a Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver, Club Lloyds Platinum or Premier account³. Royal Bank of Scotland pays £200 on its Select or Reward accounts¹¹, and Danske Bank pays £200 on its current accounts⁸. Santander has also run a £180 switch offer, which ended on 31 July 2026². Independent Age notes that some banks offer around £100¹³, and a Financial Ombudsman case study involved a £250 incentive⁴.

Some offers are not pure cash. Lloyds and Bank of Scotland have offered £100 cash plus £120 in Deliveroo vouchers paid over six months, and 15% cashback at selected retailers¹⁴. Santander has offered a four-year Railcard, worth £115, plus cashback through its Boost scheme¹⁴. Nationwide has previously offered £200 for switching a main current account¹⁵, and Lloyds described a £150 bonus in 2022 as the largest it had ever offered at that point¹⁵.

The pattern to notice is that offers rise and fall with competition. When several banks launch offers at once, the amounts tend to climb; when they lapse, the market can go quiet for months. The figure you see advertised today may not be there next month, which is why the closing date matters as much as the amount.

The conditions attached to a switch bonus

No bank pays a switch bonus for simply opening an account. Every offer attaches conditions, and they are where most people come unstuck. The common ones are:

• A full switch through the Current Account Switch Service, closing your old account³
• A minimum amount paid in within a set window: Royal Bank of Scotland asks for at least £1,250, which can be made of multiple payments and must remain in the account for 24 hours¹¹; Santander's earlier £180 offer asked for at least £1,500²
• Direct debits moved across: Lloyds requires at least 3 active direct debits³
• Payment timing: Royal Bank of Scotland pays the £200 within 30 days of the conditions being met¹¹

Some banks may also ask you to deposit a minimum amount when you switch, as Independent Age notes¹, and some deals require a minimum number of direct debits or a certain amount deposited each month to qualify⁷. The exact conditions are always in the offer terms, and they differ from bank to bank even when the headline amount is the same.

A full switch through the Current Account Switch Service

Nearly every switch offer requires the switch to be done through the Current Account Switch Service, known as CASS⁷. It is a free service that can automatically switch your current account to another bank or building society⁵, and most banks have agreed to use it¹⁷. The service is free to use, and you choose and agree your switch date with the new bank⁵.

CASS transfers your account in seven days⁷, and it moves your payments with it. Banks guarantee that payments in and out of your new account are switched over in time so that you do not miss any regular bills and payments⁶. The Current Account Switch Guarantee provides protection if something goes wrong¹⁸. The old account is closed as part of a full switch, which is why offers insist on it: a partial switch, where you keep the old account open, usually does not qualify.

The seven-day period is working days, and the switch date is agreed with the new bank when you apply. Payments that would have gone into the old account after the switch are redirected, and any that slip through are covered by the guarantee. The dedicated pages on the Current Account Switch Service, how long a bank switch takes and what happens to Direct Debits when you switch cover the mechanics in detail.

Who is left out: previous bonuses, existing customers and some accounts

The exclusions are where offers quietly exclude large numbers of people. The most common ones:

• Previous bonuses from the same group. You will not be eligible for the NatWest or RBS offer if you or anyone on the account has previously received a NatWest Group cash switch incentive, covering NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank, and you cannot switch from another NatWest Group bank¹¹. Lloyds has excluded customers who already received a switching bonus after April 2020¹⁵.
• Existing current account customers. Royal Bank of Scotland restricts its £200 offer to new and existing customers who did not hold a Royal Bank current account on 6 May 2026¹¹. Danske Bank, by contrast, states that customers with a Danske mortgage, savings account or credit card but no current account are eligible⁸.
• Recent closures. The Co-operative Bank excludes existing customers who close a Co-operative Bank or smile current account of any type during the offer period and then apply for a Standard Current Account or Everyday Extra account¹⁹.
• Excluded account types. The Co-operative Bank's offer does not cover its smile Current Accounts, Student Accounts or Cashminder Accounts¹⁹. Nationwide has not allowed switching from one Nationwide account to another to qualify¹⁵.

The banking group point catches many people out. Because NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank are one group, a bonus from any of them blocks the others. Lloyds and Bank of Scotland are similarly linked, which matters when their offers are advertised side by side¹⁴. If in doubt, the offer terms name the group entities that are excluded.

Joint accounts get one payment, not two

A joint account can be switched, but the bonus does not double. Cash incentives are usually limited to one payment per account, so a couple switching together does not receive twice the bonus⁷. Danske Bank states it plainly: joint accounts are only eligible for one payment⁸, and Royal Bank of Scotland says the £200 payment is only paid once to the joint account¹².

The Current Account Switch Service works for joint accounts provided you are switching to another joint account and all account holders agree²⁰. You can also switch a sole account to a joint account elsewhere. What you cannot do is switch from a joint account into a sole account: Royal Bank of Scotland states that accounts must be opened in a sole name before being made joint, and that it is not possible to switch a joint account into a sole account¹².

A joint account normally allows two or more people to receive payments, pay by debit card, transfer money and manage the account, depending on the bank²⁰. Interest earned in a joint account is usually split equally between each person for tax purposes, with tax only due if a share is above the annual allowance²⁰, though that concerns interest rather than the switch bonus itself. The page on joint bank accounts covers the wider ground.

When the bonus is paid

Payment timings vary widely between offers, and the gap between qualifying and being paid can be weeks:

Santander's 90-day wait is the longest among current offers, and it exists to make sure the conditions are genuinely met before the money leaves. Lloyds pays quickly, within 14 working days of the switch starting, but the conditions are checked afterwards, so the payment can be clawed back or withheld if they turn out not to have been met³.

The practical point is to diarise the deadline. If the terms say the bonus is paid within 30 days of meeting the conditions, and nothing has arrived by day 31, contact the bank. Keep the offer terms you were shown, because they are the reference point for any complaint. If the bank refuses to pay a bonus you believe you earned, the page on what to do when a switch bonus is not paid sets out the steps, and the Financial Ombudsman can be reached after the bank's own complaints process has run its course⁴.

Offers can change or end without notice

Switch offers are short-term by nature. Santander's £240 offer closed on 7 October 2026², its £180 offer ended on 31 July 2026², and Lloyds' £200 offer requires the switch to be started by 9 December 2026³. Nationwide withdrew a previous offer of up to £125 on 2 October in a past round¹⁵. An offer you see today may be gone tomorrow, and the amount advertised is only guaranteed if you start the switch before the deadline.

Banks can also change their accounts and services, providing they give prior notice to affected customers²¹. Where a change to a term, charge or interest rate would be to the disadvantage of a banking customer, FCA rules say the firm should provide reasonable notice on paper or in another durable medium before the change takes effect²². The Consumer Rights Act 2015 carves out financial services from some of its general contract-variation protections, allowing a supplier of financial services to alter interest rates or charges without notice where there is a valid reason, provided the consumer is informed at the earliest opportunity and is free to dissolve the contract immediately²³. That is why the offer terms, not the advert, are what count.

Cashback and retailer offers are not the same as a switch bonus

Banks advertise several kinds of reward, and they are easy to confuse. A switch bonus is a one-off payment for moving your current account. Cashback and retailer offers are ongoing perks attached to an account, and they work differently:

• Retailer cashback, such as the 15% cashback at selected retailers offered alongside Lloyds and Bank of Scotland switch deals¹⁴, or cashback through Santander Boost¹⁴, is earned by spending, not by switching.
• Vouchers, such as the £120 in Deliveroo vouchers paid over six months in the Lloyds and Bank of Scotland offer¹⁴, arrive separately from the cash element and on their own schedule.
• Reward accounts pay ongoing rewards for meeting monthly conditions, which is a different product altogether; the page on reward and cashback current accounts covers them.

One thing worth knowing when a switch offer bundles retailer perks: paying by bank transfer or "Pay by Bank" methods lacks the Section 75 and chargeback protections that apply to credit and debit card purchases²⁴. That is a general point about how you pay, not about switch bonuses, but it matters when an offer pushes you towards a particular payment route.

What protects a switcher, and where help is available

The main protections around switching come from the Current Account Switch Guarantee: payments in and out are switched in time so regular bills are not missed⁶, and the guarantee provides protection if something goes wrong¹⁸. The switch itself is free⁵. If a bank will not pay an incentive you believe you earned, the Financial Ombudsman Service looks at exactly that kind of dispute; in one published case study it examined a refused £250 switch incentive and set out what the bank had to show⁴. You must complain to the bank first, then take the complaint to the ombudsman if it is not resolved.

Free, impartial help is available if the sums matter to you because money is tight. Independent Age publishes guidance on making the most of your bank account, including switching incentives¹. Citizens Advice covers getting and switching bank accounts⁵, and National Debtline publishes guides on safe bank accounts⁶. If you are in an abusive relationship and worried about a joint account or a switch, Surviving Economic Abuse has cost-of-living information that includes banking¹³, and the page on banking help after domestic abuse covers the options.

A few practical cautions finish the picture. Switching while overdrawn needs care, since the old account's debt does not disappear with the account; the page on switching while overdrawn explains. Students do not need to stay with the same bank when they finish their course²⁵, so a graduate can switch for a bonus, though the excluded account types in some offers, such as The Co-operative Bank's Student Accounts¹⁹, show that not every account qualifies. And because offers are short-term²⁶, the one you switch for should be checked against its own terms on the day you apply, not against an advert from last month.