Provider takeovers and account migrations

When a bank, insurer, savings provider or pension firm is taken over, the accounts it holds do not disappear. They are transferred to the new owner or moved onto its systems, and the customer carries on with a new provider, sometimes under a new brand name. You will normally be told when your account is being moved to a new supplier, and if the firm is being sold or renamed, it should contact you with the name of the new supplier and when your account will move¹.

What changes depends on the type of account and how the takeover is done. For payment accounts such as current accounts, the rules give you real protections: notice of changes to your terms no later than two months before they take effect², a switching process that moves your payments for you³, and a refund of charges if the transfer goes wrong⁴. For savings, ISAs and pensions, you keep the right to transfer out to a different provider on your instructions⁵. And where two providers merge, the amount of your money protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme can change, because the £120,000 deposit limit applies per banking licence, not per brand⁶.

What happens to your account when a provider is taken over

A takeover does not usually change day-to-day banking at first. Balances, direct debits and standing orders carry on, and the new owner steps into the shoes of the old one. Customers are normally told when an account is being moved to a new supplier, and where a supplier is being sold or changing its name, they will be contacted with the name of the new supplier and when the account will be moved¹. That guidance is written for energy customers, but the same expectation of being informed applies across regulated financial services.

The timing of that notice varies by product. For payment accounts, the regulations are specific: a payment service provider must give notice of proposed changes to framework contract terms no later than two months before the date on which they are to take effect². Where an approved account provider stops acting, the rules have required not less than 30 days' notice of that intention¹¹. For workplace and personal pensions, trustees or managers must inform a member about the conditions of a transfer within one month of the member's request to make one, unless the transfer has already been made¹².

In practice, a migration usually arrives as a letter or email telling you the date your account moves, what will change, and what you need to do. Sometimes that is nothing at all. Sometimes it is registering new login details, agreeing to new terms, or confirming your identity again. If you receive a message about an account migration, be careful of scams: a genuine provider will never ask you to move money to a "safe account" or ask for full passwords. If in doubt, contact the provider using the number on its website or your card, not the number in the message.

Account migration: what moves across and what changes

In most migrations your money, balance and payment instructions move with the account. Where there is an arrangement between the old and new bank, the bank must transfer any account balance and make arrangements for direct debits and standing orders, and if there are mistakes or delays in the transfer process which lead to bank charges, you shouldn't have to pay for them⁴. That last point matters: a botched migration that causes a missed payment and an overdraft fee is the bank's problem to fix, not yours.

The clearest model for how a migration should work is the Current Account Switch Service, which banks use when a customer moves between providers. Under the switch guarantee, money and payments can be automatically moved from your old account to your new one, including redirecting any incoming payments, with a refund of any interest or charges if things go wrong¹³. The new bank or building society takes care of moving all your incoming and outgoing payments, your outstanding balance and closing your old account¹⁴. Payments made to your old account after your switch date are automatically redirected to your new account, although this does not include payments received from abroad¹⁵.

A takeover migration is not always a full switch, so the details differ. Things that commonly change are:

• Logins and apps: new online banking credentials and a new app to download
• Terms and conditions: the new provider's terms replace the old ones, with notice²
• Brand and statements: the name on statements, cards and the app changes
• Contact details: new phone numbers, branches and complaint routes

Things that usually move across unchanged are your balance, your direct debits and standing orders, and your payment history. If you receive a regular payment into the account, such as a benefit or salary, it is worth checking the first payment after the migration date. If you are paid a benefit like Universal Credit into the account, official guidance is that you can ask your new provider to transfer your balance and all your incoming and outgoing payments over when you move accounts¹⁶.

Your account number, sort code and card after a migration

Whether your account number and sort code survive a migration depends on how it is done. In a takeover where the new provider keeps the account running on the same systems, they often stay the same, and your existing card keeps working until it expires. Where the account is moved onto entirely new systems, or switched to a different provider, you will get new account details and a new card, and anyone who pays you or takes payments from you may need the new details.

This is one reason the switching rules put the burden on the bank rather than on you. Under the Current Account Switch Service, payments made to your previous account are automatically directed to your new one¹⁴, and the redirection lasts for 36 months, so payments accidentally sent to the old account still reach you⁸. The exception to know about is payments from abroad, which are not redirected¹⁵. If you receive regular payments from overseas, you will need to give the sender your new details yourself.

Even where details stay the same, check what reference numbers you use. NS&I, for example, asks customers transferring money to quote their NS&I account number as the reference, using the sort code and account numbers NS&I provides¹⁷. After a migration, the reference the provider expects may change even when the sort code does not. If you make regular manual transfers to or from the account, confirm the details in the first weeks after the move.

If your card changes, recurring card payments can be a weak point: subscriptions taken by card do not always follow automatically in the way direct debits do. Check your statements in the first month or two for anything that has stopped, and see what happens to recurring card payments when you get a new card for how to handle them.

Terms, rates and fees after a takeover

A new owner can change the terms of your account, but not silently or instantly. For payment accounts, notice of proposed changes to framework contract terms must be provided no later than two months before the date on which they are to take effect². That gives you a window to decide whether the new terms suit you, and, if they do not, to move your account before they apply.

What the new provider cannot do is charge you arbitrarily for leaving. The regulations state that any fee charged for switching a payment account must be reasonable and no more than the actual costs of providing the service⁷. Older rules made the same point for approved account providers: the whole of an account was to be transferred free of expense to another approved provider on the account holder's instructions, subject to a reasonable business period not exceeding 30 days¹¹. So a provider that wants to charge you for moving your savings or payment account is on thin ice, and a charge that clearly exceeds its actual costs would be challengeable.

Rates are the change most people notice. A takeover or migration is a common moment for a savings rate to be cut to the new provider's standard rate, or for an introductory bonus to end. Nothing in the rules freezes your rate: the protection is the notice period and your right to transfer out. For ISAs, the rules are explicit that on the account investor's instructions, the account or agreed parts of it shall be transferred to another account manager⁵, so you can move the whole ISA without losing its tax-free status. NS&I, for instance, confirms that customers can transfer an NS&I ISA balance to another provider by contacting the new provider, who will arrange the transfer¹⁸.

Insurance policies when the provider changes

Insurance behaves differently from bank accounts, because a policy is a contract for a set period with a named insurer behind it. When a bank or broker changes the insurer that underwrites its policies, existing policies normally continue on their existing terms until renewal. A real example: RBS home insurance policies purchased after 14 July 2026 are underwritten by a different insurer, Uinsure, while earlier policies remain underwritten by U K Insurance¹⁹. The customer with the older policy keeps that underwriter until their policy renews.

At renewal, everything is open to change: the price, the excess, the cover and the insurer. The renewal documents are what matter, and they should tell you what has changed since last year. If the new insurer's cover is narrower, or the price has jumped, you are free to look elsewhere. A policyholder can cancel their policy and set up a new one with a different insurer whenever they want, even if a claim is ongoing, although the claim will affect their no-claims bonus²⁰.

Two things are worth checking when your insurer changes. First, that the new insurer is authorised: the FSCS protects insurance in different ways depending on the type of cover, paying 100% of employers' liability claims and 90% of property claims²¹, but only for authorised firms. See checking an insurer or insurance seller is authorised for how to verify this. Second, whether any mid-term administration fee applies to cancelling, which should be set out in your policy terms.

For pensions, a change of provider raises a different set of questions. The Pension Schemes Bill 2024-25 includes measures to allow contract-based pension providers to override a member's contract to change it or transfer them to a new arrangement, with measures to protect savers²². If your pension is moved in this way, read what you are sent carefully: the protections attached to the move, and any effect on charges, should be explained. In some cases it is also possible to transfer to a new pension provider after you've started to draw retirement benefits²³.

Stay, switch or close: your options side by side

After a takeover you have three broad options, and the right one depends on what has changed and what you use the account for.

Staying is the default, and for many people it is the sensible non-action: the account carries on, and you only need to act if the new terms or service do not suit you. Switching is easier than most people expect, because the switching service does the work of moving payments and balance¹³. Closing suits people who do not need the account, for example someone with a dormant savings account moved to a provider they do not want to deal with.

If you are overdrawn, that does not block a switch: you can switch using the Current Account Switch Service even if you are overdrawn, provided the new bank agrees to take on the overdraft²⁴. If someone helps you with your account, tell the new provider: most account providers will allow you to permanently or temporarily name a helper to access your account on your behalf, and the arrangement may need to be set up again after a move²⁵.

How to switch to a different provider instead

If you decide the new provider is not for you, the process is straightforward. Switching schemes exist to allow consumers to move their payment accounts from one payment service provider to another²⁶, and the Current Account Switch Service is the main one for current accounts. It is a free service that can automatically switch your current account to another bank or building society⁴.

1. Open the new account with the bank or building society you have chosen, and ask for a full switch of your old account.
2. Choose a switch date, which must be at least six business days after the provider receives your request unless otherwise agreed²⁷.
3. Keep using your old account up to and until the switch date, when your funds will be transferred to your new account¹⁵.
4. Let the switch complete. Your new bank takes care of moving all your incoming and outgoing payments, your outstanding balance and closing your old account¹⁴.
5. Check your first statements for anything that did not move, and claim back any charges if a payment failed.

For savings rather than current accounts, the route is a transfer rather than a switch. NS&I, for example, asks customers switching between its accounts to choose the account and complete the relevant form, including the amount to switch and the account it is coming from³⁰. For ISAs, always ask the new provider to arrange the transfer rather than withdrawing the money yourself, so the tax-free status is preserved⁵. If you receive Student Finance payments, note that Student Finance England requires 4 working days' notice to change your bank details so that the payment is made to your new bank account³¹.

Where migrations go wrong and how to complain

Migrations go wrong in predictable ways: payments that do not move, logins that stop working, and charges applied for the provider's mistakes. The Financial Ombudsman Service helps resolve complaints about issues such as account closures, disputed transactions, IT failures, and problems with switching services³². The volume is real: current accounts generated 7,800 new complaints to the ombudsman in Q1 2025/26³³, and overdrafts 834 new complaints in Q4 2024/25³⁴. International transfers drew 101 complaints in Q1 2025/26, though the ombudsman's own publications for that quarter give differing figures of 101 and 102, so treat the exact number with caution³⁵.

Your protections when it goes wrong are concrete:

• If a direct debit or standing order has not been successfully transferred to your new account, the new bank must refund you for any charges incurred as a result⁸.
• If anything goes wrong with a switch, you'll be refunded any interest and charges on your old and new accounts under the switch guarantee²⁹.
• If mistakes or delays in the transfer process lead to bank charges, you shouldn't have to pay for them⁴.

Complain to the provider first, using its complaints process. If you are unhappy with how the firm handled a data request, such as asking for your data to be moved, complain to the organisation first and then to the Information Commissioner's Office if still dissatisfied³⁶. If the provider does not resolve the complaint within eight weeks or you disagree with its answer, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can look at whether you lost money because of an admin error or a delayed transfer, for example into an ISA account³⁷. See writing an effective complaint letter or email for how to put the complaint together, and free consumer advice when a dispute with a firm stalls for where to get help.

Some specific cases have their own wrinkles. The ombudsman has published case studies on transfer complaints, including one from a customer, Mr G, on the topic of transfers³⁸. Where a with-profits pension fund is transferred to another type of plan, providers can apply a market value adjustment, reducing the amount paid out³⁹. And in the public sector, a recurring complaint theme has been the transfer of arrears between agencies, in particular where those arrears had previously been disputed and were believed by the customer to be incorrect⁴⁰. The lesson across all of these: check figures you are given after a transfer, and query anything that does not match your records.

FSCS protection when two providers merge

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects deposits up to £120,000 per eligible person, per banking licence⁹. The critical word is licence, not brand. FSCS protection applies at firm level and may be shared across brands under the same authorisation⁶, so if you have money in multiple accounts with multiple banks that are part of the same banking group and share a banking licence, they are treated as one bank, with the £120,000 limit applying across all accounts⁴¹.

This is where mergers bite. Before a merger, two banks with separate licences give you £120,000 of protection at each. After they share one licence, you have £120,000 in total across both. If a current account and a savings account share one authorisation number, they are classed as a single firm and the £120,000 limit is shared across both¹⁰. FSCS's own example puts it plainly: your limit for compensation is £120,000 in total, shared across the brands¹⁰.

Joint accounts add a layer. Joint accounts are eligible for FSCS protection up to the same limit of £120,000 per eligible person⁴², so a joint account with two holders is protected up to £240,000¹⁰. FSCS's protection tool assumes a joint account with two account holders, each with an equal share⁶. But note the interaction: if you have an individual account and a joint account within the same banking group, the £120,000 compensation limit applies across all these accounts, not to each separate account⁶.

You can check your own position using FSCS's protection checker⁶. Two further points are worth knowing. FSCS cannot protect e-money or payment services firms⁶, so money held with certain app-based firms outside deposit protection is a different matter. And if you use a savings marketplace or aggregator, the position depends on where the money actually sits: if an aggregator deposited your money with a regulated bank that then fails, it's likely that FSCS will protect it⁶. After any merger, the practical step is the same: check whether your combined balances across the merged brands now exceed £120,000, and if they do, consider spreading them across separately licensed firms.