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Barclays has become the latest bank to introduce a big cash incentive to switch , with up to £600 on offer for new customers. Opting for a Barclays regular current account could earn customers a £300 bonus – £60 more than the next-best switching offer from Santander, which is paying switchers £240 but is due to expire soon. The bumper £600 switch deal is available to Premier customers, but requires them to have an annual income of at least £75,000, or £100,000 in savings and investments with the bank.
Other perks including better savings and mortgage rates, fee-free FX and Apple TV are also accessible with a Premier account for those who can afford it, while to get the first £450 of the total cash switch offer you’ll need £5,000 landing in the account within a month of opening. Using the current account switch service (CASS), many banks and building societies offer cash bonuses when joining as a new customer, though there are usually one or two hoops to jump through. Often it includes having direct debits active in the account you are moving from, which will be closed and all your cash, payees and standing orders moved over to your new account.
In the case of the £300 deal with Barclays, three direct debits are required as well as at least £2,000 in salary being paid in within 30 days of the account being opened. Barclays is among a number of major banks offering cash incentives to switch (PA Archive) Once that happens, you’ll get the first part of the reward bonus, which is £150. The other half is comprised of five monthly payments of £30 - another £150 in total - which you’ll get if you make ten transactions on your debit card during each of those five months.
The same is true for Premier customers, taking their total to £600. To make the switch from your present bank, you need to use the app and switch through the CASS service, which is free and used by millions of Britons. Barclays says customers must open and complete an application in the app within 21 days.
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Go to website ADVERTISEMENT There are plenty of reasons you might want to move from one bank or building society to another: customer service, better savings rates, branches in your vicinity, app experience or anything else. Before deciding to switch current accounts, though, you should always ensure that the one you are moving to offers services which suit your needs, beyond the headline cash switch bonus you’ll get. Also make sure you can fulfil the terms required.
There are several other financial services providers offering cash switch bonuses - though none offering as much as £300 in total and with one big offer running out soon. That is Santander’s £240 switch to their Everyday Current Account, which is set to expire on 7 October. To choose that one, you’ll have to submit a switch request before 2pm on that day.
Elsewhere, first direct (owned by HSBC) is offering £210 for new customers joining before 2 December, HSBC offers £220 to join, while Nationwide still has their £175 switch offer ongoing. In most cases there are rules around what qualifies as a new customer, so for instance you cannot take the HSBC offer if you have been a customer of first direct in the past few years or vice versa, so always check your eligibility.
Source: The Independent
