Almost one in four of all the current account switchers moved to Santander in first year of CASS
The first anniversary of the launch of the Current Account Switching Service (CASS) on 16 September 2014 will see the 250,000th current account switch to Santander, the bank said today (11 September).
This means that almost one in four (23%) of all the current account switchers moved to Santander in the first 11 months since the launch of the service, as a new report from the Payments Council reveals that 1.1 million switches took place in this time.
Rami Aboukhair, Managing Director, Retail Banking, Santander UK, said: “The introduction of the Current Account Switching Service has given customers greater confidence to switch their current account and we’re delighted that 250,000 of them have switched to Santander since last September.”
The majority of switchers – more than nine out of 10 (93%) – opened Santander’s 1|2|3 Current Account. Since its launch in March 2012 this account has provided ongoing value with up to 3% cashback on household bills paid by direct debit, and up to 3% interest on balances up to £20,000, all for a £2 monthly fee.
Matt Hall, Director of Banking Products, Santander UK, added: “The 1|2|3 Current Account can give customers great value, and whilst we know there’s still lots of work to do, the recent MoneySavingExpert survey results show that we’ve made great improvements to our customer service. The switching results suggest we’re definitely on the right track.”
On 28 August MoneySavingExpert.com published its latest Banking Service Index. This poll of the website's users that asks them how they rate the service they receive from their current account provider. Santander was rated the best high street bank and second overall, above its main high street competitors.
Separate data published by the FCA on 29 August revealed that the number of FCA reportable complaints Santander received over the last twelve months fell by 32% from 198,736 in the first half of 2013 to 135,611 in the first half of 2014, and by almost half from the same time period in 2012.
Matt Hall concluded: “The Current Account Switching Service now provides a guaranteed, hassle free switch, completed in just seven days. Santander customers can choose their own switch date up to 60 days in the future and get a four month fee-free arranged overdraft during the switching process for extra reassurance.”
