Switching your bank account: a step-by-step checklist

Switching a current account in the UK is free and takes seven working days from start to finish. The Current Account Switch Service, known as CASS, moves your balance, your Direct Debits and standing orders, and your incoming payments such as your salary or benefits, then closes your old account for you¹. You choose the date the switch completes, and your new bank or building society manages the whole process².

The service is backed by the Current Account Switch Guarantee. If anything goes wrong, your new bank must refund any interest and charges you incur on either account and fix any missed payments so your credit rating is not damaged¹. After the switch, payments sent to your old account by mistake are redirected to your new one for 36 months².

Most banks and building societies offering current accounts take part, and the service covers most UK current accounts³. This page walks through the process in order: who can switch, what happens on each day, how to pick a switch date, what moves automatically, what you must update yourself, and what to check afterwards. How the service and its guarantee work in detail is covered in the current accounts section.

The Current Account Switch Service: free and done in seven working days

The Current Account Switch Service is a free service that automatically switches your current account from one bank or building society to another⁶. You do not pay for it, and you do not have to fill in separate forms with your old bank: once you have asked your new bank to switch you, it contacts your old bank, arranges the transfer of everything and asks it to close the account¹.

The service is run by Bacs Payment Schemes Ltd, and the Payment Systems Regulator has issued a designation certificate declaring it an alternative arrangement under the Payment Accounts Regulations⁷. Those regulations require payment providers to offer a switching service between accounts held in the UK and denominated in the same currency, which for CASS means pounds (GBP) accounts⁸. Around 40 providers participate, covering the vast majority of personal current accounts⁹.

What actually moves is set out in the guarantee. Your new bank arranges to transfer your existing outgoing payments, such as Direct Debits and standing orders, and your incoming payments, such as your salary¹⁰. If you have money in your old account, it is transferred to your new account on your switch date¹¹. Your old account is closed and your new one is ready to use on that date¹⁰.

The switch can even begin while your new account is still being opened, so there is no need to wait for paperwork before starting the process¹². In practice, the whole thing runs in the background: you carry on using your old account until close to the switch date, and the banks handle the rest.

Who can switch: joint, sole and overdrawn accounts

A qualifying account for the service is a pounds (GBP) account held in the name of one or more persons and used to make or receive payments⁴. That covers sole accounts and joint accounts alike.

Joint accounts can be switched, but only to another joint account held by the same people, and every account holder has to agree to the switch¹³. A sole account can be switched into a joint account, but the service cannot go the other way: there is no joint-to-sole switch, and if you want to end up with a sole account you must wait until the switch has taken place and then ask your new bank to convert it¹⁴. Some banks state this plainly in their own terms: TSB, for example, says you cannot switch a joint account into a sole account¹⁵.

Being overdrawn does not stop you switching. MoneyHelper confirms you can use the Current Account Switch Service even if you are overdrawn¹⁶. What happens next depends on your new bank. If your new bank agrees to give you an arranged overdraft that covers what you owe, the funds are sent to your old bank and you owe the overdraft balance on the new account instead. If the new overdraft is smaller, or you cannot get one, you will need to arrange to pay off the remainder separately before you can switch or close your old account¹. If you want an arranged overdraft with your new current account, you will need to be approved by your new bank before the switch¹⁰.

There is one situation that needs extra care. If you have an overdraft or other debts on your current account and you open a basic bank account at the same bank, it may use the money in the new basic account to pay off the debts in the old one, under what is known as the right of set off. Citizens Advice suggests opening the basic account at a different bank instead, particularly if the account receives benefits, tax credits or a state pension¹⁷. StepChange explains the same rule: a bank can transfer money from your sole account to a debt in your name, or from a joint account to a joint debt held by the same two people¹⁸. If you need to change banks in this situation, find a bank you are not currently banking with and that offers a basic bank account¹⁹.

Step-by-step: from opening the new account to switch day

The process starts with choosing a new account. MoneyHelper's guidance on choosing the right bank account covers what to compare before you commit²⁰. Once the new account is open, or while it is being opened, you tell your new bank you want to switch and give it your old account details¹².

Here is the sequence, drawn from banks' own descriptions of the service:

1. Open the new account and tell the new bank you want to switch, giving your old account details and your preferred switch date²¹.
2. Day 1: your new bank tells your old bank you are switching and the date you would like to switch, and asks it to close the old account when everything has been transferred²².
3. The process begins 6 working days before the switch date⁴.
4. Days 3 to 6: your new bank sets up payment mandates on your new account. Direct Debit originators are told you have switched banks and given your new account details, and all payments in are redirected too²².
5. Up to day 6: your old account stays active and usable²³.
6. Switch date: your balance is transferred, your old account is closed and your new one is ready to use¹⁰.

Your new bank or building society manages the switch entirely, and it will contact you before your switch date if there are any issues in making the switch⁵. You do not have to chase your old bank at any point.

Choosing your switch date

You can choose and agree your switch date with your new bank²¹. There are two rules about when that date can be. It cannot be a Saturday, Sunday or a bank holiday, and it must be at least seven working days after your new account has been opened². Virgin Money's switch guide puts the same requirement slightly differently: agree a switch date that is at least 7 working days after your new account has been set up⁴.

Pick a date that works around your money. If your salary is paid late in the month and several Direct Debits leave in the first week, a switch date in the middle of the month may give the banks the clearest run. Nothing in the rules requires this, but it is worth thinking about when payments arrive and leave before agreeing a date.

You are not locked in once you have chosen. You can change the switch date at any time up to the close of business 7 working days before the date you originally picked⁴. Cancellation works on the same clock: you cannot cancel a switch once the process has started, but if you selected a future switch date you can cancel up to 7 working days before that date²³.

After the switch: redirected payments for three years

Once the switch is done, your old account is closed and your new one is fully up and running¹⁰. But the service keeps working in the background for a long time afterwards. For 36 months, your new bank will arrange for payments accidentally made to your old account to be automatically redirected to your new one². The Consumer Council describes the same protection: any payments made to your previous account will be automatically directed to your new one³.

The redirection is not silent. Your new bank will also contact the sender and give them your new account details, so whoever sent the money is told where to find you in future²⁴. This matters most in the early weeks, when an employer, a pension provider or a customer may still have your old details on file.

Three years is the standard across the market. TSB, for example, redirects payments sent to or from the old account for at least 3 years after the switch completes¹⁵, and Chase states that for three years after you switch, any payments accidentally made to your old account will be automatically redirected²⁵. After the redirection period ends, a payment sent to the closed old account will no longer find its way to you. If you realise you have sent money to the wrong account at any point, the first step is to contact your bank to request your money back²⁶.

One thing that does not follow you is your history. Your transaction history on the old account is not transferred through the service, so if you need old statements, for tax records, a mortgage application or a benefit claim, you must get them from your old bank²⁷. It is worth downloading several years of statements before the switch date.

Card payments, open banking apps and foreign currency payments are left behind

Not everything moves automatically, and the gaps are worth knowing about before your switch date rather than after.

Recurring card payments. Regular payments set up with your old debit card number, sometimes called continuous payment authorities or recurring card payments, are not guaranteed to transfer. Virgin Money's terms state there is no guarantee that payment requests sent to your old account will be redirected to your new account for these payments⁴. Subscriptions and gym memberships are often set up this way, so you will need to give each company your new card details yourself. The page on recurring payments on a new card explains how these payments behave.

Open banking and third-party apps. If you have given a third-party provider permission to access your account data or make payments for you, through a budgeting app or a payment app for example, that access will not be transferred automatically to your new account as part of the switch⁴. You will need to give the app fresh permission for the new account, and the page on withdrawing open banking consent explains how these permissions work.

Foreign currency payments. If you have any existing regular payment mandates that are in a foreign currency, or that quote a BIC or IBAN, these will not be switched to your new account automatically⁴. Anyone paying you from abroad, or a regular payment you make overseas, needs your new account details directly.

The Current Account Switch Guarantee: refunds if something goes wrong

The Current Account Switch Guarantee is provided by your new bank or building society²⁴, and it is what turns the seven-day promise into something with teeth. It has three main commitments.

First, the switch itself: payments in and out of your new account are switched over in time so that you do not miss any regular bills and payments²⁸. Second, the refund: if anything goes wrong with the switch, the bank will refund any interest and charges incurred on your old or new current accounts as soon as it is told about it²⁹. Weatherbys states the same rule in its own terms: as soon as the bank is told, it will refund any interest, paid or lost, and charges made on either account as a result of the failure¹¹. Third, your credit rating: if you have any problems with payments during the switch, such as a standing order, your new bank must fix them so your credit rating is not affected³⁰.

The refund rule is specific. Which? notes that the new bank must refund you for any charges incurred as a result of a Direct Debit or standing order not having been successfully transferred to the new account². So if a missed payment causes a late fee or an overdraft charge on either account, the new bank has to put it right once you tell it.

If the bank does not resolve things, you can complain, and an unresolved complaint can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. One of the ombudsman's published case studies concerns a consumer, Melanie, whose current account switch did not go smoothly as expected, which illustrates the kind of dispute the ombudsman can look at¹². The pages on writing a complaint and free consumer advice set out how to take a complaint further.

Switching and your credit score

The switch itself is not a credit event. HSBC states that simply switching from one bank to another using the Current Account Switch Service will not affect your credit rating³⁰. Zempler Bank makes a related point: because a full switch closes your original account, it can in turn result in a positive contribution to your credit score²⁷.

The qualification is the application. When you open a new account, your new bank may run a credit score check, which could affect your credit rating³⁰. HSBC's guidance is that switching should not affect your credit score unless you switch several times in the same year, as some banks carry out a hard credit check when you open a current account³⁰. TSB warns along the same lines that opening multiple bank accounts or frequently switching your account can lower your credit score, and that an existing switch to another provider must complete first¹⁵.

For student accounts, Which? reports that switching could cause a temporary dip in your credit score, though your score may recover over time if you manage your finances responsibly³¹. StepChange adds a general reassurance about score movements: a change in your score does not affect your ability to get credit³². If you want to see what a lender sees before you apply, the page on requesting your full credit file explains how to get it from each agency.

Free help with switching

You do not have to pay anyone to switch a bank account: the service itself is free², and free, impartial help is available at every stage if you need it.

Before you switch, MoneyHelper, the free government-backed money guidance service, explains how to open, switch or close a bank account and how to choose the right one¹. Citizens Advice covers the same ground, including for Scotland, where its guidance also describes the manual route: opening a new account before closing the old one, cancelling or moving standing orders and Direct Debits yourself, and returning unused cheques and cutting up cards¹⁷.

If money is tight or you have debts, specialist charities can help you choose an account that will not make things worse. National Debtline's safe bank accounts guidance explains how to keep money you need for essentials out of reach of a bank's right of set off²⁸. StepChange covers basic bank accounts, including which banks offer them and when to use a different bank from the one you owe¹⁹. In Northern Ireland, Advice NI publishes guidance on basic bank accounts and debt management³³, and the Consumer Council, Northern Ireland's consumer body for financial services, explains switching and what to check before you move³. If a switch goes wrong and the bank will not fix it, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free to use¹².