Halifax £100 current account switching offer returns

Halifax has announced the return of its leading switching initiative that offers £100 to customers moving their current account to the bank.

Halifax is still the only major bank that will pay branch customers £100 on the day that they start the switching process. Typically, other providers either pay nothing or only credit an account after the switch has completed, or if their service they provide has been inadequate.

The offer, which is available until 15 July returns on the success of the same offer which first launched in January this year. During the first quarter of 2012, over 80,000 customers moved their current account to Halifax, nearly double those who switched in the same period last year.

Of those that switching during the January and February:

The average age of a switcher was 41 years old
54% were men, 46% were women
Switchers were most active in London, Ilford and Halifax.

Anthony Warrington, director of current accounts, Halifax said, "In the first three months of this year, over 80,000 customers moved their current accounts to Halifax, nearly double the same period last year. This shows that customers are being savvier, more mobile, and are willing to change their accounts when it makes them better off.

"Customers switching to the Halifax Reward Account will benefit not only from £100 on the day they start the move, but will receive an ongoing £5 monthly reward when they credit the account with £1000."

Customers that switch in branch to a new Halifax current account will benefit from:

£100 credited to the new account on the day that they start the switching process
All account details provided at opening with the ability to start banking online immediately
A dedicated switching team to provide support throughout the process
A service to transfer all direct debits and standing orders
A service to transfer credits, including salary or pension credits

Customers do not need to hold any other products with the bank in order to benefit from the full £100. Halifax also guarantees that it will help customers to move to another bank if they are not satisfied with the service that they receive. Digital and telephony customers will benefit from £100 once the switching process has started.

Halifax Clarity Credit Card

In addition, customers taking out a new Halifax Clarity card in branch or by telephone before 14 July will receive £5 for every full £500 of existing balances they transfer to the card, up to a maximum of £40 cashback.

This is in addition to the £5 that qualifying Halifax current account holders can receive every statement month that they spend £300 or more on their Clarity card, earning them up to £60 every year.

The Clarity Card, which offers a rate of 2.9% APR for 16 months on balance transfers, does not charge any usage fees, which means that unlike some balance transfer deals, customers transferring to Clarity do not incur a fee.