EXCLUSIVE How 5,600 high rollers switched current accounts with £100,000 in the bank

Thousands of current account switchers have transferred with more than £100,000 in the bank, exclusive data shows.
Since the start of 2024, 5,600 people have used the official Current Account Switching Service (Cass) to swap bank with six-figure sums.
Many banks offer cash incentives of up to £200 to entice new customers to switch primary bank account.
The process of switching accounts became smoother with the arrival of Cass in 2013 which is operated by Pay UK. It has facilitated more than 11m bank switches.
In the first three months of 2025, 228,805 bank switches took place, according to bank-specific data from Cass.
Of these, 995 switched their current account with balances of more than £100,000, the data reveals, representing 0.4 per cent of bank switchers.
In the same period, 13,259 people moved balances between £10,000 and £99,999.99.
There are some 8.3m current accounts in Britain with balances of £10,000 or more and 80pc of these accounts pay no interest, according to savings app Spring.
The average current account balance is around £2,000.
For those earning 0pc on £100,000, they would get £4,500 annual interest with the top paying easy-access rate from Coventry Building Society.
Individuals who transfer six figure sums will also breach Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection.
This guarantees sums of up to £85,000 per individual if a bank goes bust.
John Dentry, of Pay UK, said the fact people feel safe enough to move across large sums is because it provides a secure service, guarantees completion within seven days and carries all direct debits across.
If something goes wrong, Cass promises to refund interest lost and any charges. It says 99.8pc of switches complete without a problem.
The Cass data also shows 50,000 people switched between £1,000 and £9,999.99 to a new bank account in the first three months of the year.
But most switchers transferred between 1p and £999, with 130,824 switching this amount.
Birmingham was the hotspot for switching, with just shy of 6,000 customers taking the leap. This was followed by Sheffield, Manchester and Nottingham.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Sun

27 minutes ago

• The Sun

Family-run business holding ‘everything must go' sale as Labour's tax hikes force the closure of its last shop

A FAMILY-run retail business is closing its last store in a few days, offering great bargains before it shuts. The Cotswolds Sewing Centres, a family-run business, is closing its last store in Witney next week, offering big discounts in a "everything must go" sale. 1 The business, which has been a local favourite since 2021, says rising taxes under the Labour government have made it impossible to continue. This closure follows the shutdown of its sister store in Banbury earlier this year, ending over 40 years of serving the high street. Amy Brennan, who took over the business after her mother passed away in 2020, previously stated that the Witney shop and online store would stay open after closing the Banbury branch. However, she has now announced that both will be closing as well. In a notice sent to customers she said: "With a heavy heart I'm announcing the closing of Cotswold Sewing Centres. "Our Witney store and website will close in June 2025. "Unfortunately the April increases for businesses has forced this decision. "Thank you for all the support over the years." The Witney store will close for the final time on Tuesday, June 24. Until then, shoppers can grab bargains both in-store and online as the owners work to clear out their remaining stock. Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down According to recent posts on the retailer's Facebook page, shoppers can get 30% off all fabric, 20% off yarn and 10% off drops yarn. Items in the haberdashery are discounted by 10%, and knitting and crochet patterns are available for just £3. In response to the post shoppers have shared their sadness about the closure. One person said: "This is just awful. Witney High Street is dying because of the high rents and rates. "I will be very sorry to see this particular shop go, as a dressmaker it's been a life-saver on many occasions." Another said: "That's a crying shame! "Where do all of us who enjoy being creative with knitting or sewing go now?" A third shopper said: "I'm so sad to hear the news. "This shop has always been such a special place for me - not just for finding beautiful fabrics and materials, but for the calm and welcoming atmosphere." RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce showed that more than half of companies planned to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms also found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020. Why is the retail sector struggling? The retail sector has struggled in recent years due to the onset of online shopping and lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. Just this week, the owners of Poundland confirmed they would shut 68 stores in a major shake-up, with 82 more at risk. Both Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop are also shutting branches as part of restructuring efforts. Higher inflation since 2022 has also hit shoppers' budgets while businesses have struggled with higher wage, tax and energy costs. The Centre for Retail Research has described the sector as going through a "permacrisis" since the 2008 financial crash. Figures from the Centre also show 34 retail companies operating multiple stores stopped trading in 2024, leading to the closure of 7,537 shops.

Times

34 minutes ago

• Times

The Chinese are opening London's priciest hotel – with a US twist

Donald Trump presents himself as the great dealmaker, a man who gets the best properties at the best locations for the best price, especially when it comes to opening hotels, like his Washington hotel. Radha Arora is about to put one over on him — in his own embassy. 'This is the best hotel, with the best address, in the No 1 city on the planet,' the president of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts said last week as he walked into the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square in London's Mayfair — soon to be the Chancery Rosewood hotel. The hotel, which will open in August, is the most expensive to be built in London: the £1 billion budget works out at £7 million for each of the 144 suites, which come with butler service. The 'cheapest' suite is £1,500 a night, and the two penthouse suites — named after British monarchs so loved by Trump, Elizabeth and Charles — will go for about £60,000 a night. Trump can only dream of such regal connections and rates.

Reuters

an hour ago

• Reuters

Germany to hire 11,000 more military personnel this year, Bild reports

FRANKFURT, June 21 (Reuters) - The German government will provide funds for an extra 11,000 military personnel by the end of the year, an increase of around 4%, tabloid Bild reported on Saturday, citing government sources. The money will be provided for 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilian employees for the military by end-2025, the newspaper said, adding the move was part of this year's budget planning to be approved by the cabinet next week. The new jobs will cover armed, air, naval and cyber forces, the report said. Germany's Defence Ministry declined to comment. Germany needs up to 60,000 additional troops under new NATO targets for weapons and personnel, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this month, as the alliance beefs up its forces to respond to what it sees as an increased threat from Russia.