Glossary · UK
What is Current Account Switch Guarantee?
A free service, backed by almost all UK banks and building societies, that moves a customer's current account — including all direct debits, standing orders and incoming payments — to a new provider within seven working days.
Full Definition
The Current Account Switch Guarantee is a voluntary industry scheme, backed by the vast majority of UK personal and business current account providers, that lets a customer move their current account to a new bank or building society within seven working days of asking, with the new bank handling the entire process on the customer's behalf. Once the customer picks a switch date, the new provider automatically transfers all existing direct debits, standing orders and incoming payments (such as salary or benefits) to the new account, redirects any payments mistakenly sent to the old account for 36 months after the switch, and, together with the old provider, closes the old account and moves across the balance. If anything goes wrong during the switch -- for example a direct debit is missed or a payment misdirected due to an error in the process -- the customer is refunded any resulting fees or interest charges under the guarantee, without needing to prove fault. The scheme, run by Pay.UK, covers switches between any of the participating providers (which include all the major high street banks) but does not itself force any particular bank to offer better rates or accept every applicant, so customers still need to compare accounts on features such as overdraft charges, interest paid on balances, and any switching incentives before choosing where to switch to. The guarantee removes what was historically one of the biggest barriers to switching bank accounts -- the hassle and risk of missed payments -- and is separate from Open Banking, which enables data-sharing and payments between accounts rather than a full account switch.