How does NatWest’s £150 bank switch offer stack up against the competition?

Banks and building societies will pay you to join them - but make sure you know the terms

NatWest is the latest bank to offer up a significant cash bonus for new customers opening a current account, with a £150 pot on the table, along with other benefits.

Switch incentives are a common tactic among banks and building societies to tempt consumers to move - and they can not only provide a lucrative bump to your balance, but also offer longer-term perks too.

Choosing which one, or ones, benefits you most before you make any move is important, and it often pays to look beyond the headline amount before deciding.

Savings rates, ongoing freebies, customer service, local branches, app ease of use and more should all be considered according to your situation and needs - but above all else, you should make sure you’re maximising how hard your money works for you and not just stay with your current provider because you’ve simply always been there.

In banking, the unfortunate truth is that loyalty rarely pays - which is why over 12m people have changed banks over the last dozen years using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

What is the CASS?

CASS is a free service which you can use to move bank accounts. Once you tell them your old bank details and where you want to move to, the service does the heavy lifting: direct debits, payee details, existing cash balance and everything else. It can take about a week usually but you’ll be informed of timelines when you move.

You can read more on it here.

Before moving to any new account, make sure you know the terms, as to get the switch cash and any additional perks your new bank or building society will ask for a few specific things in each case: that could a set number of direct debits, putting a specific amount of cash in during your first month, using the app or similar. They are all slightly different, so do check.

You also usually can’t get the cash offer if you’ve been a recent customer of the bank or building society.

NatWest: £150 switch offer

So, NatWest’s offer. It’s £150 as the basic offer, if you start your switch before 28 May. That’s a fairly standard rate, not the best but a frequent amount offered by many banks.

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But as well as that, if you open their digital regular saver account by mid-June, you’ll get a boosted rate on your savings for a year, making it (currently) 7%.

That rate puts it right in the top bracket of available regular savers, alongside the likes of first direct (7%), Zopa Bank (7.1%) and Principality’s fixed saver (7.5%) - however, NatWest’s version only allows you to put away £150 per month.

Regular savers are particularly good for starting saving habits or putting cash away you won’t need for a while. Part of that 7% is variable, however, so could change when the Bank of England cuts rates.

“If you save the maximum amount of £150 a month into the savings account, you’ll have £68.04 in interest after a year,” explained Finder’s money expert Kate Steere - while also pointing out the additional perks NatWest’s deal can bring you.

“With the Reward account, you can get £5 a month extra: £4 for having two monthly direct debits worth over £2 and a further £1 for logging in to the mobile banking app once during the month. By doing so, you can earn an additional £36 per year after, accounting for the Reward account’s £2 monthly fee.

“Including the rewards, interest and switch offer that’s £254.04 in your first year moving to NatWest could give you.”

Best switch incentives

The biggest initial cash offer right now comes from Santander, offering £200 to move. Beyond that figure, there are several account types to choose from; one of the best overall looks like the Edge account which gives cashback on bills, a 6% rate savings account on balances up to £4,000 and more. It comes with a monthly fee, which you can naturally “earn” back through that cashback on bills you pay from your account.

Danske Bank are similarly offering £200 but it’s all about that figure and the current account, as their savings rates are well below the best. There are free and paid account choices.

Nationwide are giving you £175 to join, with three account options. The FlexDirect is free, gives you 5% interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first year, monthly cashback for debit card purchases and access to the reasonably competitive 6.5% regular saver account (max £200 per month). They also sometimes pay out extra money to account holders as a profit share.

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First direct also offer £175 to switch, with access to the aforementioned 7% regular saver (£300 per month max). Otherwise it’s fairly no-frills but the customer service always scores highly.

Finally we’d also list Co-Op Bank as an option - it’s £175 in total but you only get £100 initially, then £25 per month for three more months as long as you’re depositing money, making purchases and so on. Their regular saver is 7% (£250 per month max) too.

High earner switch offers

A brand new offer which started this week, if you have a salary of more than £75,000 (or £100,000 in savings and investments) you can get £400 by switching to the Barclays Premier Current Account. That comes with a huge range of perks too such as Apple TV, an MLS subscription, cashback and more.

HSBC offer £100,000 earners a £250 switch bonus, family insurance and other perks.

Can you switch more than once?

Yes. There’s nothing stopping you moving banks now, next week or whenever you feel your current account isn’t giving you what you need any more. Opening multiple accounts in a short space might not be the ideal thing to do if you’re considering something big soon - like getting a mortgage - but otherwise, it’s up to banks and building societies to keep customers happy and on board.