Best Bank Switch Offers in the UK

UK banks are paying record cash to win your current account. Right now you can get up to £300 for switching, and several offers pay £200 or more. The catch is never the headline figure. It is the small print: pay-in amounts, direct debit rules and exclusions that quietly rule people out.

This page tracks every live UK bank switch offer in one place. Every figure is checked against the bank’s own offer page or terms, we explain who can actually get each bonus in plain English, and we update the page every week. Offers checked: 19 October 2026.

Deadlines move fast: keep an eye on the money deadlines on Money Weather, updated every weekday evening.

Best bank switch offers at a glance

Every offer below was checked on 19 October 2026. Full eligibility checks for each bank are further down the page, because the headline bonus is only half the story.

RBS runs the same £200 offer as NatWest, on the same terms, because both are part of NatWest Group. Premium accounts pay more if you earn a high salary: Barclays Premier pays up to £600 (needs a £75,000 income or £100,000 held with Barclays) and HSBC Premier pays £500 (needs a £100,000 salary or £100,000 held with HSBC). Most people will not qualify for those two, so they are not in our main table.

What each offer is really worth in year one

A £175 bonus with generous extras can beat a £220 bonus with none. This table adds up the maximum realistic first-year value of each offer if you use the account fully. The extras take effort, and we say what that effort is.

Nationwide members with a qualifying current account plus a mortgage or savings product have also received a £100 Fairer Share payment every year since 2023. It is not guaranteed, so we have left it out of the table. If it is paid again, FlexDirect’s first-year value rises to £470.

Barclays: up to £300, paid in two parts

Barclays launched this offer on 1 October 2026 and it is the biggest headline figure on the market. Read the payment structure before you get excited: you receive £150 first, then the rest slowly.

To get it, you must:

• Be a new Barclays customer and open a sole Bank Account in the Barclays app, completing your application within 21 days of starting it, and start your switch within 30 days of opening.
• Complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), moving at least 3 active direct debits.
• Pay in a salary of at least £2,000 within 30 days of opening. The salary must arrive by Bacs from an employer, and transfers from your own accounts do not count. Barclays then pays the first £150 within 28 working days.
• For the remaining £150: in each of the 5 months after you receive the first £150, pay in a salary of £2,000 or more and make 10 or more debit card payments. You receive £30 a month.

You cannot get it if: you already hold a Barclays current account, you are opening a joint account, or you have received a Barclays switch bonus before.

Watch out: miss one month’s conditions and that month’s £30 is gone. There is no published end date, so the offer can be withdrawn at any time. See switching to Barclays on their website.

HSBC: £220, app only

To get it, you must:

• Be a new customer and open an HSBC Bank Account in the HSBC mobile app. Applications made online, in branch or by phone do not count.
• Within 60 days: complete a full CASS switch including at least 2 direct debits, pay in £2,000, and spend £500 on your debit card.

You cannot get it if: you have held an HSBC UK or first direct current account at any point since 1 January 2023.

Good to know: the £220 is paid within 60 days of you meeting all the conditions. The account has no monthly fee and includes the Global Money Account for holding and spending other currencies. See the £220 offer on HSBC’s website.

first direct: £210 until 2 December

first direct has boosted its usual £175 bonus to £210 for switches opened before 2 December 2026. Its customer service regularly tops UK banking polls, and the account has no monthly fee.

To get it, you must:

• Open a 1st Account and complete a full CASS switch, moving at least 2 direct debits or standing orders.
• Within 45 days of opening: deposit £1,000 or more, make at least 5 debit card payments, and log in to digital banking.

You cannot get it if: you have ever held any first direct product before, or you opened an HSBC current account on or after 1 January 2018. first direct is part of HSBC, and the two offers block each other.

Good to know: the bonus lands by the 20th of the month after you qualify. You also get a £250 interest-free overdraft (subject to status) and access to the Regular Saver at 7.00% AER. Saving the maximum £300 a month earns about £136.50 interest over the year. See the £210 offer on first direct’s website.

Lloyds: £200, the simplest offer here

To get it, you must:

• Open a new Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver, Club Lloyds Platinum or Lloyds Premier account by 9 December 2026.
• Start a full CASS switch by 9 December 2026 from an account with a different bank, moving at least 3 active direct debits. Direct debits set up after your switch starts do not count.

There is no minimum pay-in for the bonus itself, which makes this the easiest £200 on this page. Lloyds pays within 14 working days of your switch starting.

You cannot get it if: you are switching from a Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland account, or you have received a switch incentive from any of those three since 1 January 2023.

Watch out: the accounts carry fees. Club Lloyds costs £5 a month, refunded in any month you pay in £2,000 or more. Silver adds £11.50 a month and Platinum adds £22.50 a month for packaged benefits like insurance, and those extra fees cannot be refunded. Pick the plain Club Lloyds account unless you will genuinely use the extras. See the £200 offer on Lloyds’ website.

NatWest: £200, with rewards on the Reward account

To get it, you must:

• Open a Select or Reward account and complete a full CASS switch from a bank outside NatWest Group.
• Within 60 days of switching: pay in £1,250 (it can be several payments, but each payment must stay in the account for at least 24 hours) and log in to the NatWest mobile app.

You cannot get it if: you or a joint holder have ever received a switch incentive from NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank, or you held a NatWest current account on 6 May 2026.

Good to know: NatWest pays the £200 within 30 days of you meeting the conditions. The Reward account costs £2 a month but pays back £4 a month for two or more direct debits of £2 or more, so regular users come out ahead. NatWest removed the extra £1 a month for logging in to the app on 1 October 2026, but you still have to log in to the app once within 60 days of switching to claim the £200 bonus above. RBS offers the same £200 on the same terms. See the £200 offer on NatWest’s website.

Nationwide: £175 bonus, best total value

The headline bonus is the smallest from a big name here, but FlexDirect’s extras make it worth up to £370 in year one, more than any other offer on this page.

To get it, you must:

• Complete a full CASS switch to a FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus account from an account outside Nationwide and Virgin Money, finishing within 28 days.
• Move at least 2 active direct debits.
• Pay in £1,000 and make at least 1 debit card payment within 31 days of opening.

You cannot get it if: this is not your first eligible Nationwide switch incentive since 2021 (one sole account and one joint account each count separately).

Good to know: the £175 is paid within 10 days of you meeting every condition, the fastest payout here. On FlexDirect you also earn 5% AER fixed for 12 months on balances up to £1,500, and cashback of £5 a month for £300 or more of direct debits plus £5 a month for £500 or more of card spending. Those extras need £1,500 paid in each month. See the £175 offer on Nationwide’s website.

How bank switching works

Every offer on this page uses the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), the free official service run for UK banks. It works like this:

1. You open the new account and ask for a full switch, choosing your switch date.
2. Your new bank moves everything for you within 7 working days: your balance, direct debits, standing orders and incoming payments like your salary.
3. Your old account closes automatically. Payments sent to your old account details are redirected to your new account, and the sender is told your new details.
4. The whole switch is covered by the Current Account Switch Guarantee. If anything goes wrong, your new bank refunds any interest or charges caused by the mistake.

One thing CASS does not move: recurring payments taken from your debit card number, such as some streaming and subscription services. Update those yourself with your new card details in the first week.

Does switching bank accounts affect your credit score?

A switch itself does not damage your credit score, and millions of people switch every year. Two things are worth knowing. First, opening a new current account can involve a credit check, especially if you ask for an overdraft. Second, several bank applications in a short window can look untidy to lenders. If you plan to apply for a mortgage in the next few months, get the mortgage sorted first, then chase switch bonuses. Not sure where your score stands? Read our guide to checking your credit score free in the UK before you apply anywhere.

What changed this week

• 19 October 2026: Weekly check. Santander’s £240 offer, which ended on 7 October 2026 and was kept on this page as ended for one cycle, has now been removed in full. Every other offer was re-checked on the bank’s own site and the figures are unchanged: Barclays up to £300, HSBC £220, first direct £210 (ends 2 December 2026), Lloyds £200 (ends 9 December 2026), NatWest £200 and Nationwide £175. The Co-operative Bank has no live switch offer on its own site, so it stays off this page.
• 12 October 2026: Weekly check. The Co-operative Bank switch offer, which ended on 7 September 2026 and was kept on this page for one cycle, has now been removed in full. Santander’s ended £240 offer stays visible as ended for this cycle and will be removed in the next update. All other offers were re-checked and their figures are unchanged.
• 7 October 2026: Santander’s £240 switch offer ended at 2pm today and has been removed from the live offers above. It is now shown as ended, and HSBC’s £220 is the biggest single lump sum on a fee-free account. Barclays’ up to £300 offer was re-checked today and is still live, so the page title is unchanged.
• 5 October 2026: Weekly check. The Co-operative Bank switch offer is now marked as ended: it closed on 7 September 2026 and is no longer open to new applications, and it will be removed in the next update. NatWest Reward’s first year value is corrected from £236 to £224, because NatWest removed the £1 a month app log-in reward on 1 October 2026, so the net rewards are now £24 a year instead of £36. Barclays’ conditions are clarified from its own terms: the first £150 needs a £2,000 salary paid in by Bacs from an employer, and the 10 debit card payments apply to the monthly £30 rewards, not to the first £150. Santander’s £240 offer ends on 7 October 2026.
• 2 October 2026: This page launched. Barclays’ new switch offer (up to £300) went live on 1 October. Santander confirmed its £240 offer ends on 7 October.

Bank switch offers: your questions answered

Is switching bank accounts safe?

Yes. The Current Account Switch Service is backed by a guarantee: if a payment is missed or something goes wrong because of the switch, your new bank must refund the interest and charges. More than 300,000 people switched in the first three months of 2026 alone.

How long does a bank switch take?

A full switch takes 7 working days, and you choose the completion date. You keep using your old account as normal until the switch day.

Do I have to close my old account?

For these bonuses, yes. Every offer on this page requires a full switch, which closes your old account. Partial switches, where the old account stays open, do not qualify.

Can I collect more than one switch bonus?

Often, yes, one after another. Each bank sets its own exclusions, and most block people who bank with a sister brand (HSBC blocks first direct customers, Lloyds blocks Halifax and Bank of Scotland switchers). Serious switchers work through the offers one at a time. Space them out, and never switch just before a mortgage application.

Do I pay tax on a switch bonus?

Switch bonuses are not interest, and banks state they are not subject to UK income tax for the person receiving them. If your tax position is unusual, check with HMRC or an accountant.

What happens to payments sent to my old account after I switch?

They are automatically redirected to your new account, and the sender is given your new details. The redirection service continues until no payments have been redirected for 13 months.

While you are improving your banking, see our guides to the best cash ISA rates in the UK and follow the day’s money news in UK Markets Daily. And when you are ready to bring more money in, our Make Money hub lists checked ways to earn in the UK, from paid research to website testing, with honest pay figures.