Santander’s current account switching service awarded five stars

Santander's current account switching service has been given a five-star rating by Defaqto, the independent financial research company, the highest rating it gives to financial products and services.
 
The rating was given based on a number of factors - the time it takes to switch and the information provided to customers throughout the process - and Santander was found to excel in these areas.
 
Hetal Parmar, Head of Banking at Santander, said: "Switching your bank account can sometimes seem a daunting prospect, but our dedicated switcher service really takes away the hassle.  Our new SMS and email updates provide further peace of mind to customers by keeping them informed at each stage.  We're incredibly proud that our service has been given a five star rating by Defaqto."
 
Santander has recently launched SMS and email updates for customers so they receive live information straight to their mobile phone or computer when the account switch begins, when payments are being set up on the new account and when the switch completes.
 
Santander's dedicated switching team will also phone the customer if there is anything that needs discussing.  All these enhancements are in addition to the existing letters Santander continues to send throughout the process.
 
Santander's switching service completes 98 per cent of switches within 16 working days.  The industry average is 20 working days.
 
Santander has a dedicated switcher team which manages the switch of all Direct Debits, standing orders and bill payments for the customer's old current account to the new Santander current account.  A four month fee free Arranged Overdraft facility is also provided to customers who switch to Santander.
 
More than 250,000 people have switched from other banks or building societies to the 123 Current Account - Santander's primary and most popular account - since it was launched in March 2012.  More than one million people in Britain now benefit from this unique account that pays up to 3% cashback and up to 3% interest, for a monthly fee of just £2.
 
123 Current Account pays cashback on household direct debits

1% cashback on water, council tax and Santander mortgage direct debits
2% cashback on electricity and gas
3% on mobile, home phone, broadband and paid-for TV packages
 
123 Current Account also pays in-credit interest

1% AER on the entire balance, once the customer's balance is £1,000 or over
2% AER on the entire balance, once the customer's balance is £2,000 or over
3% AER on the entire balance, once the customer's balance is £3,000 or over (up to £20,000)