How to Switch Bank Accounts (UK): The 7-Day Switch Service

Plenty of people stay with the same bank for decades, often for one reason: switching sounds like a hassle. The fear is always the same — a forgotten direct debit bounces, your salary lands in a closed account, or you spend hours on the phone. In reality, switching a UK current account has been deliberately engineered to be quick and low-risk, and it is one of the simplest ways to get a better deal, better service, or a sign-up bonus. This guide explains exactly how the seven-day switch works and how to do it without anything slipping through the cracks. This is general information, not financial advice.

What the Current Account Switch Service is

The Current Account Switch Service (CASS) is a free, guaranteed scheme that moves your entire current account — balance, regular payments and incoming payments — from one UK bank to another in seven working days. It launched to take the friction out of switching, and the overwhelming majority of UK banks and building societies take part.

The key point is that you do very little. Once you apply through the bank you are moving to, that bank does the heavy lifting: it talks to your old bank, transfers everything across, and closes the old account on the date you choose. You do not need to contact your old bank at all.

What gets moved automatically:

• Your balance, transferred to the new account on the switch date.
• All your direct debits (such as utilities and subscriptions).
• All your standing orders (regular fixed payments you set up).
• Incoming payments, including your salary, pension or benefits.

For 36 months after the switch, any payment accidentally sent to or requested from your old account is automatically redirected to the new one, and the sender is told your new details. That redirection is what stops the classic "forgotten direct debit" disaster.

The whole point of the switch service is that the burden of getting it right sits with the banks, not with you. If something does go wrong, the guarantee — not your wallet — picks up the cost.

The Current Account Switch Guarantee

The reason switching is genuinely low-risk is the Current Account Switch Guarantee. It is a formal promise from participating banks that covers you if anything goes wrong with the move.

Under the guarantee:

1. The switch will complete on the agreed date (seven working days after it starts).
2. Your old payments will be moved across and any that arrive at the old account will be redirected.
3. If you lose any money — through interest or charges on either account — because something went wrong with the switch, you will be refunded.

That last point is what removes the real anxiety. If a direct debit is missed because of a switching error and you are charged, the guarantee covers it. The scheme is overseen within the UK payments system and the wider sector is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so the protections have real weight behind them.

How to switch, step by step

The process is short, but a little preparation makes it smoother.

• Choose your new account. Compare current accounts on what matters to you — switching incentives, overdraft costs, interest, app quality and branch access. Building this into a wider plan helps; our guide to making a budget that works is a good place to start.
• Check overdraft and credit needs. If you use an overdraft, make sure the new bank will offer a suitable one, as this is not part of the automatic switch and depends on your circumstances.
• Apply to the new bank and request a switch. Tell them you want to use the Current Account Switch Service and pick a switch date at least seven working days ahead.
• Hand over your old account details. The new bank uses these to arrange the transfer with your old provider — you will not have to contact the old bank.
• Leave the old account alone. Do not cancel direct debits or close it yourself; the service handles all of that on the switch date.
• Keep some money available elsewhere for the switch week, just so a tight balance does not cause a payment to fail before the move completes.

On the switch date, your balance and payments move, your old account closes, and you start using the new one. That is it.

What to watch out for

The switch service is reliable, but a few things sit outside it or deserve attention:

• Overdrafts are not transferred. An arranged overdraft on your old account does not automatically carry over; you must arrange one with the new bank. If you rely on one, sort this out before switching to avoid being left short — and read up on how overdrafts and their charges work first.
• Savings linked to the account. A linked savings account or regular-saver may not move with the switch, so check whether you need to deal with it separately.
• Payments you collect yourself. Anything you take manually (rather than by direct debit or standing order) — for example a card stored with a retailer — needs updating with your new details.
• Switching incentives have conditions. Cash bonuses usually require you to move a minimum number of direct debits, pay in a set amount, or stay for a period. Read the terms so you actually qualify.
• Credit check on opening. Applying for the new account may involve a credit check. Switching itself will not harm your credit, and you can read more in our guide to improving your credit score.

A short checklist of your own — listing direct debits and any manual payments before you start — gives you a record to confirm everything arrived safely on the other side.

If something goes wrong

Problems are rare, but if one occurs, you are well protected. First, contact your new bank, as it is responsible for the switch under the guarantee and should put things right, including refunding any charges or lost interest caused by an error. If you are not satisfied with how a bank handles a complaint, you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. For impartial guidance on switching and managing your account, MoneyHelper (from the Money and Pensions Service) is a reliable starting point.

Banks increasingly want to resolve these issues quickly through self-service tools and clear online support. UK lender Credicorp, for instance, describes how it helps customers quickly through online forms and support articles — the kind of direct, fast-response channel that has become standard across financial services and makes sorting out a query far less painful than it once was.

The bottom line

Switching your UK current account is not the ordeal it is often imagined to be. The Current Account Switch Service moves your balance, direct debits, standing orders and incoming payments in seven working days for free, redirects anything sent to your old account, and is backed by a guarantee that refunds losses if an error occurs. The main things to handle yourself are overdrafts, linked savings and any payments you collect manually. Beyond that, the banks do the work — so if your current account no longer serves you well, switching is one of the easiest money moves you can make.