Banks and building societies: a complete guide

A bank or building society account, also called a current account, is the easiest way to access your payments, including wages, benefits and pensions¹. Around 30 UK banks and building societies also let their customers access cash and basic banking facilities through the Post Office until 2026². Banks and building societies are regulated firms: they must act with care and skill, charge what they told you they would charge, and follow detailed rules on payments, overdrafts, complaints and how they treat customers in difficulty.

This guide explains what those rules mean in practice: who can open an account and when a bank can say no, what overdrafts cost, how quickly payments must move, what happens when a payment goes wrong, how fraud refunds work, where FSCS protection applies, what is happening to branches and cash access, and how to complain if things go wrong.

What a bank or building society account gives you

A current account is the everyday hub for your money. You will be asked for your bank, building society or credit union account details when you claim benefits, and benefits and pensions are paid into it⁹. Child maintenance can be paid into it too, though it can take up to 5 days for a payment to clear, depending on your bank or building society⁴. An account also comes with a debit card, the ability to make transfers and set up Direct Debits and standing orders, and access to cash.

The difference between a bank and a building society is mainly ownership: a building society is owned by its members, while a bank is owned by shareholders. For day-to-day banking the rules that protect you are largely the same, because both are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and both must follow the same conduct rules on payments, overdrafts and complaints. The dedicated page on building society vs bank covers the differences in more detail.

What a firm must provide is set out in the FCA's rulebook. The core obligations are to act with care and skill, to give you information in a way you can understand, and to charge only what was agreed. Where a payment is not correctly executed, FCA rules in BCOBS require the firm to put it right without undue delay, as covered below. Firms must also tell you about changes to your account in advance, and give you an annual summary of charges and interest.

If you are unhappy with the service you receive, the route is the same whichever type of firm it is: complain to the firm first, then to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The page on how a current account works explains the mechanics of running an account, and types of current account sets out the options, from standard accounts to packaged and student accounts.

Who can open an account, and when a bank can say no

To open a bank account you usually fill in an application form in a branch, online, or sometimes over the phone, and provide proof of identity including your full name, date of birth and address¹⁰. When opening an account you will need to show proof of who you are and your address; if you do not have the right documents, ask the bank what it will accept instead¹¹. The page on what ID you need lists the documents banks typically accept.

A bank or building society can refuse to open an account for you, does not always have to give a reason, and there is usually nothing you can do about it¹⁰. Ex-prisoners may find it particularly difficult¹⁰. However, refusing you because of race, sex, disability, religion or sexuality is not allowed, and you can complain about that to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁰. If you have a low income or a poor credit history and think you might have trouble opening a bank account, you could apply for a basic bank account¹¹. Basic bank accounts are not available to businesses, though charities can use the industry body UK Finance's guide to opening a charity bank account¹².

There are specific rules in some situations:

• Immigration status. Banks and building societies must not open a new current account for a person who is disqualified, or add them to an existing account, and they carry out status checks¹³. A bank or building society is not allowed to open an account for someone who needs leave under the Immigration Rules to be in the UK but does not have it, and such a person cannot be added as a joint account holder or be a signatory or beneficiary on any account¹⁰. The narrow page on accounts closed over immigration status covers this.
• Bankruptcy. In Northern Ireland, the guidance states that after a bankruptcy order a person may open a new bank or building society account but should tell the bank they are bankrupt; the bank may impose conditions and limitations¹⁴. The page can I open a bank account if I'm bankrupt? covers the position across the UK.
• No fixed address. Several major banks take part in a scheme to help people without a fixed address open an account. In November 2025, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide and Santander joined a partnership with the charity Shelter, expanding a pilot begun by Shelter and HSBC in 2019. The page opening a bank account with no fixed address covers this.

If you are refused a standard account, the pages on basic bank accounts and what to do if you're refused a basic bank account set out the options. In July 2026 the FCA secured commitments from nine of the biggest UK banks and building societies to improve access to basic bank accounts, after a mystery shopping exercise found a third of experiences rated poor or very poor.

Overdraft charges and what drives them

An overdraft is a way of borrowing through your current account. Interest rates from banks and building societies on their overdrafts range from 19% to 40% or more³. Banks also charge a monthly fee and a setting up fee for the overdraft, so it can be an expensive way to borrow money¹⁵.

Unauthorised overdrafts, also known as unplanned or unarranged overdrafts, happen when you spend more than you have in your bank account without agreeing it in advance, including going over the limit of an authorised overdraft³. Since 2020, the rules have been changed so that a firm cannot charge more for an unarranged overdraft than it would for an arranged one, which is why the headline rate on arranged overdrafts now carries the cost. The pages on overdrafts explained, how overdraft interest and charges work and the maximum monthly charge for unarranged overdrafts cover the detail.

If you use an overdraft repeatedly, the FCA has rules requiring firms to help you, covered in overdraft repeat use: the FCA rules. If you are struggling to repay an overdraft, free help is available: see struggling to repay an overdraft and the debt section, which includes free debt advice charities.

Making and receiving payments: the time limits banks must meet

Payments into and out of your account follow set time limits. It can take up to 5 days for a payment to clear, and this depends on your bank or building society⁴. The page on bank transfers: Faster Payments, Bacs and CHAPS explains which system is used for which payment and how long each takes.

To reduce misdirected payments, banks in the Faster Payments System were directed to be capable of receiving and responding to confirmation of payee requests from other payment service providers by 1 April 2019, and to send confirmation of payee requests and present responses to their customers by 1 July 2019¹⁶. Confirmation of payee checks that the name you enter matches the account, which catches many wrong-account payments before they happen. See Confirmation of Payee explained.

Switching accounts also has legal time limits. When you switch, the receiving payment service provider must, within two business days from receipt of your authorisation, request that the transferring provider carry out the switching tasks¹⁷. Within five business days of receipt of the information requested from the transferring provider, the receiving provider must carry out its own switching tasks¹⁸. For funds placed on a payment account by users other than consumers, micro-enterprises or charities, the provider must ensure the amount is made available and value dated no later than the end of the next business day after receipt¹⁹.

Where there is a transfer arrangement in place, the old bank must transfer any account balance and make arrangements for direct debits and standing orders, and the guidance states that bank charges caused by mistakes or delays in the transfer are not the customer's to pay¹⁰. The Current Account Switch Service handles most switches automatically. For anyone moving accounts without that service, the guidance sets out the steps involved: opening the new account before closing the old one, cancelling or moving standing orders and Direct Debits, returning unused cheques and cutting up cards, and leaving enough money to cover uncleared cheques if transferring a balance¹⁰.

Wrong, delayed or refused payments: what the bank must put right

When a payment goes wrong, the rules are specific. Under the FCA's Banking Conduct of Business sourcebook, where a payment is not correctly executed, the firm must, without undue delay, refund the amount and restore the account to the state it would have been in had the defective transaction not been made, unless it can prove the amount was received by the firm holding the intended recipient's account, in which case that firm must immediately make the amount available to the intended recipient²⁰.

In practice this means:

1. The error is reported to the bank, with the date, amount and recipient details.
2. The bank must refund the money without undue delay unless it can show the money reached the correct recipient's bank.
3. If the money did reach another bank, that bank must immediately make it available to the person it was meant for.
4. If the bank refuses, the matter becomes a complaint. Complaints about something a bank has done, for example refusing to refund an unauthorised payment, go to the bank itself first²¹.

If you sent money to the wrong account yourself, the page paid money to the wrong person by mistake covers what to do, and unauthorised payments from your bank account covers your refund rights. If the bank holds wrong information about you or the payment, you also have a data protection right to rectification: state clearly what you believe is inaccurate or incomplete, explain how the organisation should correct it, and provide evidence of the inaccuracies where available²².

Fraud refunds and what your bank will never ask you

If you are scammed, speak to your bank, building society or credit union as soon as possible, as they can protect and reimburse victims of certain types of fraud, and report it to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk²³. The scams and fraud section covers the types of scam and the refund rules, including the contingent reimbursement model for authorised push payment scams¹⁶.

Knowing what a genuine organisation will never do helps you spot fraud. Banks, building societies, utility companies, lottery organisers, law enforcement or statutory bodies will never ask for payment in vouchers; ask you to transfer money over the phone to a different account; ask for any part of your PIN code; ask for remote access to your computer or mobile device; ask for money for a "free gift", "admin fee" or as part of a promotion; threaten to arrest you over the phone, in a letter or email for not paying a fee; or ask you to go to the bank or building society to transfer money²⁴.

You will also never be asked for your bank details by text, social media, email or via links to click within a text or email²⁵. Your bank will never ask you to disclose full security and password details, so alarm bells should ring²⁶. The Bank of England states it will never contact you about investments, refunds, fines or bank details²⁷.

If a bank refuses a fraud refund, you can complain to the bank and then to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which handles complaints where you have been tricked into making a payment⁵. The ombudsman also handles complaints involving gambling-related harm²⁸ and disputes about goods and services bought on credit²⁹.

Where FSCS protection applies, and where it stops

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects money held with banks, building societies and credit unions that are authorised in the UK. If a firm fails, you will normally get your money back within seven days⁶. The FSCS is free and independent, and you do not have to apply in most cases: it either pays out automatically or contacts you⁶.

Where protection stops matters. FSCS covers deposits with authorised firms, not e-money accounts or other products in the same way, and the limit applies per person per firm, so money across several brands that share one banking licence counts together. The page is my current account protected? explains the limit and how it applies across brands. FSCS does not cover losses from fraud on a live account, or money you lost because of bad advice: those routes run through your bank's complaints process and the ombudsman instead.

Branch closures and access to cash

Branch numbers have fallen sharply. FCA data suggests that in the 2 years to Q1 2023, 1,391 bank and building society branches closed, as did 2,176 free-to-use ATMs³⁰. In 2022 Q4 there were 906 brick-and-mortar branches of smaller banks and building societies across the UK³¹. The number of brick-and-mortar branches of the larger banks and building societies providing cash services fell by 90 branches, a decrease of 2%, in 2023 Q1 compared with 2022 Q4³², and then fell by a further 210 branches, a decrease of 4.7%, in 2023 Q2³³. By 2025 H2 there were 2,935 brick-and-mortar branches of the larger banks and building societies providing current accounts across the UK³⁴.

Since 18 September 2024, banks and building societies must assess local cash access and plug significant gaps when services such as branches close⁷. The FCA's regime requires banks and building societies designated by the Government to assess and fill gaps³⁵. In practice, this means the 14 largest banks and building societies in the UK must conduct cash access assessments in response to trigger events¹². Those trigger events include closures of, or material reductions or changes to, the provision of cash access services at an existing facility, including facilities of non-designated entities, and receipt of a cash access request³⁴. Designated banks and building societies have also been placed into a new fee block, A.24, for funding purposes³⁴.

The scale of what remains is large: a combined dataset covering approximately 19,000 branches of banks, building societies and post offices represented 99% of UK branch coverage³⁶, and the 2025 H2 coverage data lists 14,409 entries for designated banks and building societies and the Post Office, including mobile branches and banking hubs³⁴. Customers of 30 UK banks and building societies can continue to access cash and basic banking facilities via the Post Office until 2026².

The pages on bank branch closures and what replaces them, access to cash, banking at the Post Office and Post Office banking vs banking hubs cover the options in detail, including how much notice a bank must give before closing a branch.

Extra support if you are disabled, in financial difficulty or at risk of harm

Banks must make their services usable for disabled customers. Banks can provide bank statements and other documents in Braille, large print and audio formats¹¹. The page on accessible banking and extra support covers what to ask for and how.

Beyond banking, there is a wide range of disability-related financial support, including benefits, payments, grants and concessions³⁷. Depending on your circumstances, you might also be able to get Industrial Injuries Benefit if you are disabled as a result of work, or Constant Attendance Allowance if you need daily care and attention because of a disability³⁷. If you have been assessed by your local council as needing care and support services, you can get direct payments, allowing you to buy in and arrange help yourself instead of getting it directly from social services, and Disabled Facilities Grants, money towards the costs of home adaptations to enable you to continue living there³⁷. Disabled people and people with a long-term health condition can speak to their local Jobcentre Plus about the Access to Work grant⁸.

If you are in financial difficulty, tell your bank rather than drifting into unarranged overdrafts: the debt section lists free, impartial debt advice charities, and MoneyHelper offers free guidance. If you are at risk of harm from a partner or family member who controls your money, the page on banking help after domestic abuse explains how banks can help, including separating your finances safely. When someone dies, you will need to contact organisations like banks, mortgage providers, insurance providers and companies the person had contracts with, such as utility companies, landlords or housing associations, to close or change the details of their financial accounts³⁸. Their bank may temporarily stop access to their account after they die, but it might still release money for funeral costs³⁹, and a funeral can otherwise be paid for from a financial scheme the person had, like a pre-paid funeral plan or insurance policy, by you or other family members or friends, or with money from the person's estate, such as savings they had³⁹. See what happens to a bank account when someone dies.

Interest, tax and when a bank can take money from your account

Banks and building societies do not deduct tax from savings interest. After the end of the tax year, your bank or building society tells HMRC how much interest you earned⁴⁰. If your bank or building society tells HMRC that you have more than £10,000 in savings interest, HMRC will send you a notice to file a tax return⁴⁰. The page on interest on current accounts and how it is taxed covers the allowances that mean most people pay nothing.

A bank can also take money from your account in one specific situation: the right of set-off. In some circumstances, when you owe money to your bank or building society, such as a loan or credit card, it can take money from your current account to pay, or offset, that debt. The page on the bank's right of set-off explains when this applies and what notice is involved. This is one reason some people keep their current account and their debts with different firms.

Benefits and pensions are paid into your bank, building society or credit union account, and you will be asked for those account details when you claim⁹. If you are paid benefits and need to change where they go, the how to have your benefits paid guidance and the benefits section cover the process.

Complaining: eight weeks, then the Financial Ombudsman Service

The complaint route is the same across banks and building societies. The process starts with the bank's customer services and then a formal complaint: the bank has eight weeks to investigate and give a final response⁵. The guidance gives the bank at least eight weeks to try to resolve the complaint, after which it sends a final decision letter telling the customer how to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁵. If no final response letter arrives within eight weeks, or the response is not satisfactory, the complaint can be taken to the ombudsman, which is free²⁹.

For some types of complaint the firm's deadlines are shorter. For complaints about being tricked into making a payment, the firm must get back to you within 15 days, either with a response or to explain why it cannot yet give one, and send a final response within 35 days, after which you can bring the complaint to the ombudsman⁴¹. The ombudsman's own guidance for complaints involving gambling-related harm and buy now pay later follows the same pattern: complain to the company involved first, and if there is no final response within eight weeks or you are unhappy with the response, complain to the ombudsman using its complaint form²⁸.

The ombudsman is free, independent and looks at both sides of a dispute. It can order a bank to refund money, pay compensation and put things right. The consumer protection section explains the wider framework, and how to reclaim unfair bank charges covers one common type of complaint.