Major UK banks should be ready to join in a round of consolidation in European banking. The British economy is stagnant, competition from challenger app-based banks is intense, and the government is determined to tax businesses out of existence. A major takeover of a European bank would put each of them on the global stage, and if they got it right, could power their profits for a decade or more.

In the sector's biggest takeover offer for more than a decade, Italy's UniCredit tabled a $40 billion offer for Germany's Commerzbank, which it has been stalking for years. What happens next remains to be seen. It is very hard to win a hostile contest for a eurozone financial institution, and certainly one as large as Commerzbank.

UK banks should join a unified European financial system

A round of consolidation within European banking is inevitable over the next year. The EU has finally realised it needs a unified financial system if it is to improve its competitiveness. But hold on - surely the major British banks should be taking part in that process? True, Britain is no longer part of the EU. But it is still part of the wider European economy, even if officials in Brussels would prefer that it wasn't. If a major eurozone bank is up for sale, then they should be looking at it very seriously.

Firstly, it is the natural space for expansion. There is not much scope for takeovers within the British banking market, while the US is a very hard market to crack and Asia offers limited opportunities. By contrast, all the major European finance markets are geographically close. A takeover or merger would offer huge scope for cost cutting, while the leaner management that UK banks have perfected would mean it would not be hard to make their branches and loan books more profitable. Continental banks are not very efficient, so it should be possible to squeeze out higher profits.

Secondly, UK banks can afford it. All the major British banks have been racking up huge profits. Lloyds made £6.7 billion last year, a 12% increase on a year earlier; Barclays made more than £9 billion, a 13% rise; while NatWest, now finally fully private again, made £7.7 billion, an increase of more than 24%.

Commerzbank only has a value of £31 billion despite all the takeover speculation, and even Deutsche Bank is only worth slightly over £40 billion. There are plenty of banks across the eurozone that are now relatively small compared to the British lenders. They can be bought without taking on huge levels of debt, especially if a deal can be financed partly in shares.

Finally, the chance won't come again. The German banking industry has been struggling along with the rest of the German economy, but it will probably recover over the next decade if the country manages to restructure its industrial base. If you don't take over one of its major banks now, then soon it will be too late. You won't be able to afford them, and they won't be for sale anyway.

Likewise, the French economy has slumped, but it may revive, and so may the rest of the eurozone. Looking back, Switzerland's Credit Suisse was a major opportunity when it was rescued by UBS in 2023. The UK banks missed out that time around. It would be a shame to miss out all over again. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to double or more in size.

This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.

Every single branch of Nationwide and Virgin Money will keep its doors open until at least 2030, as they buck the trend of banks and building societies retreating from the high street.

Nationwide had initially committed to keeping its 696 branches (including Virgin Money) open until 2028, but has now extended its ‘Branch Promise’ until the end of the decade.

None of its branches will be closed during this period, with the building society confirming it applies even when both a Nationwide and Virgin Money branch are close to each other.

The commitment comes as 6,626 bank and building society branches have closed since January 2015, according to research from Which?.

Between the start of 2025 and the end of 2026 alone, almost 350 Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland branches will close their doors.

Similarly, NatWest closed 53 branches in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, Barclays will close 99 branches, and Santander will close 95 branches before the end of the year.

Amid these closures, Nationwide says demand for physical banking services remains high.

In the 12 months to September 2025, there was an 11% increase in the number of customers using Nationwide branches, as 33% of current accounts and 22% of savings accounts were opened in a branch, according to the building society.

ATM usage rose by 5% in the same period, with a 17% increase of non-Nationwide customers using in-branch cash machines.

The increased demand for Nationwide’s physical banking services is especially high in the 133 towns and villages in the UK where there are no longer any other bank or building society branches.

In these towns, current account openings are up 29% year on year and in-branch ATM usage is up 25% overall, and 96% for non-Nationwide customers, the building society said.

Jessica Sheldon, deputy digital editor at MoneyWeek, said: “It’s so important customers can access face-to-face banking services if they need to.

“Banking is an essential service to many, including the most vulnerable, and while millions of people in the UK use online and mobile banking, IT outages can and do happen. It’s alarming to see how many bank branches have closed in the past decade.”

Why is Nationwide keeping its branches open?

In 2019, Nationwide first pledged to keep its branches open until at least 2026, and then renewed it to last until 2028.

The promise was also extended to include all Virgin Money branches last year after its acquisition of the bank in October 2024.

It has now renewed and extended its branch promise to 2030 as the building society says branch closures have a “disproportionate impact on vulnerable customers”. This can especially be the case for older people who rely on face-to-face services for baking support.

At the same time, the building society says younger people still rely on branches too as over one in ten new Nationwide student accounts were opened in branches this academic year.

Though other banks have justified their closures by arguing that many customers prefer to bank online and have instead diverted funds to digital innovation, Nationwide’s data shows that this is not the case for all people.

Dame Debbie Crosbie, group chief executive of Nationwide, said: “Our customers can be confident that they can bank with us whichever way they choose. Branches are important to our customers, to communities, and to the health of our High Streets. That’s why Nationwide will continue to keep branches open in addition to our investment in online and telephone channels.”

How to access banking services when your local branch is closed

It is becoming more difficult for some to access physical banking services amid the ongoing wave of bank closures.

Research by Which? in January 2024 found 30 parliamentary constituencies have no bank branch anywhere in them, leaving around 3 million people with no access to local face-to-face banking services.

If your local bank branch closes, you might consider moving to another bank or building society with a physical presence nearby. Some may have bank switching offers – for instance Nationwide currently offers £175 as a bonus when you switch.

If you cannot or do not want to switch providers, you can instead look at where your closest banking hub is.

A banking hub is a shared banking facility that lets customers from various banks and building societies carry out banking services like withdrawing or depositing money, making bill payments, or speaking to an adviser.

There are currently around 150 banking hubs in the UK, with plans to increase this to 350 over the next five years.

If there isn’t a banking hub nearby, another alternative is by using one of the 11,635 Post Office branches in the UK – most of these offer ‘everyday banking’ services such as withdrawals and deposits.

Not all banks are equal, so it’s no wonder that Brits are compelled to switch accounts in search for something better.

That could be anything, whether it’s a bank switching offer with a lucrative cash bonus, access to a bank branch, higher interest rates or spending benefits.

The latest Current Account Switch Service (CASS) data shows that more than 12.4 million switches have taken place since the service launched in 2013, with over a million switches made in 2025.

We look at the most popular banks that customers switched their accounts to, what made them move, and whether you should switch banks.

Which were the most popular banks in 2025?

Nationwide again proved to be the most popular banking company that customers switched to between July and September. The building society amassed the highest net switching gains (41,450).

It was followed by Monzo in second place (9,934), and NatWest in third (8,731).

We’ve compiled a list of the top banks and building societies in terms of net gains in a table below.

Customer data from the Current Account Switch Service is published three months in arrears, which is why the data here is from July to September, and not October to December.

Source: Current Account Switch Service. Data shows the number of full account switches completed between 1 July and 30 September, 2025

Of the banks and building societies listed above, four have had cash bonuses for customers switching their accounts. This includes Nationwide, First Direct, NatWest and TSB.

Nationwide’s lucrative year-round offers, such as the £100 Fairer Share bonus, which it has offered for three consecutive years now, the Thank You bonus, and member-only savings products, may have proved attractive to a large number of customers.

Meanwhile, Monzo paid customers up to £50 to refer a friend, which may have driven its popularity.

Which were the least popular banks in 2025?

While a few banks gained new customers, a lot more lost out.

Santander saw the biggest losses (-19,989), as 42,609 switches were made from the high street bank, while it gained 22,620 new customer accounts.

In second place is Halifax with a net loss of -17,341, while Chase had a net loss of -7,623. Chase lost out on many customer accounts after axing its easy access saver rate.

In the table below, we list the banks that suffered from the highest net losses between July and September.

Source: Current Account Switch Service. Data shows the number of full account switches completed between 1 July and 30 September, 2025

Access to online or mobile banking was the most frequently cited reason for choosing a new account, mentioned by 44% of respondents. This was followed by better customer service (36%), attractive interest rates (34%), spending benefits (28%) and other benefits or features (28%).

It comes after more than £31 billion was left in savings accounts paying 1% interest or less, with savers being urged to switch to an inflation-beating savings account.

Should you switch your bank account?

Switching has now become easier than ever before. According to the Current Account Switching Service data, 93% of customers in the last three years were happy with the switching process.

If you use CASS, it takes seven days for the switch to complete. It makes sure that your direct debits, standing orders, and any new payments to your old account are transferred automatically, even after you’ve switched.

However, that doesn’t always mean that moving your money to another account will be the best option for you. It’s always best to consider the long-term value of a current account, like whether you’re getting better customer service, how much you’ll incur in fees or charges, and if you have access to physical branches.

Depending on the type of account you hold, your bank may already be offering better savings rates, travel perks, or spending benefits. So if you’re switching for the cash incentive alone, it might not be worth it in the long run.

We look at whether switching banks can affect your credit score in a separate piece.

NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite says the bank is likely to return to full private ownership next year.

Speaking at an FT event in London on Tuesday, he said: “It is reasonable to expect that absent some big dislocation or economic event we’ll be back in private ownership next year, maybe as early as the first half of the year.”

It comes less than two weeks after NatWest bought back £1 billion of shares from the Treasury in November.

The UK government’s stake in NatWest is now below 11%. At one stage, the bank was 84% owned by the state after a £46 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

Thwaite said at the time of the November buy-back: “As a result of NatWest group’s continued strong performance, we are pleased to have today completed our second buy-back of government shares of 2024, further reducing HM Treasury’s shareholding."

That transactions meant NatWest continues to edge closer to full privatisation and comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public.

What is happening with NatWest’s share price?

The bank’s share price has almost doubled over the past 12 months. At the end of October, it rose by just shy of 5% on the day it revealed its operating profits were £200 million higher than expected during the third quarter.

The banking group said it made an operating pre-tax profit of £1.7 billion between July and September 2024, nearly a third higher than the £1.3 billion generated during the same period last year. Analysts were forecasting profits of £1.5 billion.

The increase was partly driven by an increase in lending and the amount of money customers deposited with the bank.

The results sent shares in the bank to their highest levels since 2015.

Thwaite said at the time: “The strength of NatWest Group’s performance is underpinned by the support we provide to our 19 million customers in every nation and region of the UK.

“Throughout the third quarter of 2024, we have grown our lending, helping customers to buy or remortgage their homes or to start and grow their businesses. With customer activity increasing… and defaults remaining low, we are well placed to succeed with our customers and for our shareholders in the months and years ahead.”

Why did NatWest ditch its public share sale?

Reeves abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public in July, saying it would not “represent value for money”.

The Labour chancellor said that a retail share sale of the bank would now not happen as it would have meant having to offer the public discounts worth hundreds of millions of pounds, which would be damaging for taxpayers.

A public sale would "not represent value for money, and it will not go ahead", Reeves told MPs as part of a statement on public finances. She added: “It’s a bad use of taxpayer money and we will not do it."

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said at the time: “The news that retail investors will be frozen out as NatWest shares are sold off is bitterly disappointing. Retail investors are all too often overlooked and yet they are important backers of UK companies, holding a greater proportion of their assets in the UK compared to the likes of pension funds.”

The UK government’s stake in NatWest has fallen to below 11% after the Treasury sold off further stock in the bank.

The move comes less than two weeks after NatWest bought back £1 billion of shares from the Treasury earlier this month.

Paul Thwaite, the NatWest chief executive, said at the time: “As a result of NatWest group’s continued strong performance, we are pleased to have today completed our second buy-back of government shares of 2024, further reducing HM Treasury’s shareholding."

The transactions mean NatWest continues to edge closer to full privatisation and comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public.

What is happening with NatWest’s share price?

The bank’s share price has almost doubled over the past 12 months. At the end of last month, it rose by just shy of 5% on the day it revealed its operating profits were £200 million higher than expected during the third quarter.

The banking group said it made an operating pre-tax profit of £1.7 billion between July and September 2024, nearly a third higher than the £1.3 billion generated during the same period last year. Analysts were forecasting profits of £1.5 billion.

The increase was partly driven by an increase in lending and the amount of money customers deposited with the bank.

The results sent shares in the bank to their highest levels since 2015.

Thwaite said at the time: “The strength of NatWest Group’s performance is underpinned by the support we provide to our 19 million customers in every nation and region of the UK.

“Throughout the third quarter of 2024, we have grown our lending, helping customers to buy or remortgage their homes or to start and grow their businesses. With customer activity increasing… and defaults remaining low, we are well placed to succeed with our customers and for our shareholders in the months and years ahead.”

Why did NatWest ditch its public share sale?

Reeves abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public in July, saying it would not “represent value for money”.

The Labour chancellor said that a retail share sale of the bank would now not happen as it would have meant having to offer the public discounts worth hundreds of millions of pounds, which would be damaging for taxpayers.

At one stage, NatWest was 84% owned by the state after a £46 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

A public sale would "not represent value for money, and it will not go ahead", Reeves told MPs as part of a statement on public finances. She added: “It’s a bad use of taxpayer money and we will not do it."

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said at the time: “The news that retail investors will be frozen out as NatWest shares are sold off is bitterly disappointing. Retail investors are all too often overlooked and yet they are important backers of UK companies, holding a greater proportion of their assets in the UK compared to the likes of pension funds.”

The UK government’s stake in NatWest has fallen to just over 11% after the high-street bank bought back £1 billion of shares from the Treasury.

The move means NatWest continues to edge closer to full privatisation and comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public.

The government and the bank said on Monday that the Treasury’s holding will drop from 14.2% to 11.4% due to the share sale.

Paul Thwaite, the NatWest chief executive, said: “As a result of NatWest group’s continued strong performance, we are pleased to have today completed our second buy-back of government shares of 2024, further reducing HM Treasury’s shareholding."

What is happening with NatWest’s share price?

The bank’s share price has almost doubled over the past 12 months. At the end of last month, it rose by just shy of 5% on the day it revealed its operating profits were £200 million higher than expected during the third quarter.

The banking group said it made an operating pre-tax profit of £1.7 billion between July and September, nearly a third higher than the £1.3 billion generated during the same period last year. Analysts were forecasting profits of £1.5 billion.

The increase was partly driven by an increase in lending and the amount of money customers deposited with the bank.

The results sent shares in the bank to their highest levels since 2015.

Thwaite said at the time: “The strength of NatWest Group’s performance is underpinned by the support we provide to our 19 million customers in every nation and region of the UK.

“Throughout the third quarter of 2024, we have grown our lending, helping customers to buy or remortgage their homes or to start and grow their businesses. With customer activity increasing… and defaults remaining low, we are well placed to succeed with our customers and for our shareholders in the months and years ahead.”

Why did NatWest ditch its public share sale?

Reeves abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public in July, saying it would not “represent value for money”.

The Labour chancellor said that a retail share sale of the bank would now not happen as it would have meant having to offer the public discounts worth hundreds of millions of pounds, which would be damaging for taxpayers.

At one stage, NatWest was 84% owned by the state after a £46 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

A public sale would "not represent value for money, and it will not go ahead", Reeves told MPs as part of a statement on public finances. She added: “It’s a bad use of taxpayer money and we will not do it."

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said at the time: “The news that retail investors will be frozen out as NatWest shares are sold off is bitterly disappointing. Retail investors are all too often overlooked and yet they are important backers of UK companies, holding a greater proportion of their assets in the UK compared to the likes of pension funds.”

Rachel Reeves has abandoned plans to sell the government’s remaining stake in NatWest to the public, saying it would not “represent value for money”.

The Labour chancellor said a retail share sale of the bank would now not happen as it would mean having to offer the public discounts worth hundreds of millions of pounds, which would be damaging for taxpayers.

The government has a 20% stake in the lender.

A public sale would "not represent value for money, and it will not go ahead", she told MPs on Monday as part of a statement on public finances. She added: “It’s a bad use of taxpayer money and we will not do it."

Within that speech Reeves announced cuts to public spending worth billions of pounds, including restricting winter fuel payments to those on pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “The news that retail investors will be frozen out as NatWest shares are sold off is bitterly disappointing. Retail investors are all too often overlooked and yet they are important backers of UK companies, holding a greater proportion of their assets in the UK compared to the likes of pension funds.”

Postponement comes after NatWest beats expectations

The abandonment comes after profits at NatWest surpassed expectations in the three months to the end of June, pushing the share price of the state-backed lender more than 8% higher during early trading on Friday.

NatWest, which has been one of the FTSE 100’s best-performing stocks this year, notched up profits of £1.7 billion during the quarter, beating forecasts of £1.3 billion.

Within those results the bank, which was at one stage 84% owned by the state after a £46 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis, also revealed it had spent £24 million on the previously shelved Tory government plans for a 'Tell Sid'-style public share sale. The costs were racked up to pay for advertising and preparations for sale, which had been due to launch in the summer before the surprise 4 July election announcement.

Earlier last week, high street bank TSB, which is part of Spain's Banco Sabadell, posted pre-tax profits of £111.6 million during the period, down 24.5% against the same six months a year earlier.

TSB said income was impacted by lower mortgage margins due to "challenging" market conditions in the face of high interest rates, while the company also paid out significantly more interest to its savings customers.

UK interest rates are currently sitting at a 16-year high of 5.25%, meaning mortgage rates remain high. As a result industry body UK Finance said that it expects total lending for house purchases to fall by a further 8% this year to £120 billion.

James Tatch, head of analytics at UK Finance, says: “We expect lending to remain weak in 2024, with a gradual improvement in affordability reflected in a modest increase in activity levels in 2025.”

Profits at NatWest surpassed expectations in the three months to the end of June, pushing the share price of the state-backed lender more than 8% higher during early trading on Friday.

NatWest, which has been one of the FTSE 100’s best-performing stocks this year, notched up profits of £1.7bn during the quarter, beating forecasts of £1.3bn.

NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite says: “We have made good progress against our strategic priorities, taking decisive action to grow and simplify our business and to manage our capital and costs more efficiently.”

The bank, which was at one stage 84% owned by the state after a £46 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis, also revealed that it had spent £24 million on shelved Tory government plans for a retail share sale in the lender. The costs were racked up to pay for advertising and preparations for sale, which had been due to launch in the summer before the surprise 4 July election announcement.

Labour has yet to confirm whether it will proceed with the share sale plans. Thwaite said he would expect any announcement about a potential sale to come in the government's next fiscal event, although he stressed it was a decision to be made by the Treasury.

Although NatWest's profits beat expectations, for the first half of the year they were lower than during the same period in 2023. The same was true at TSB where profits dropped by almost a quarter in the six months to the end of June on the back of lower margins from the UK lender’s mortgage business. 

Earlier this week, the high street bank, which is part of Spain's Banco Sabadell, posted pre-tax profits of £111.6 million during the period, down 24.5% against the same six months a year earlier.

TSB said income was impacted by lower mortgage margins due to "challenging" market conditions in the face of high interest rates, while the company also paid out significantly more interest to its savings customers.

UK interest rates are currently sitting at a 16-year high of 5.25%, meaning mortgage rates remain high. As a result industry body UK Finance said that it expects total lending for house purchases to fall by a further 8% this year to £120 billion.

James Tatch, head of analytics at UK Finance, says: “We expect lending to remain weak in 2024, with a gradual improvement in affordability reflected in a modest increase in activity levels in 2025.”

Will the Bank of England cut interest rates this summer? 

Barring any economic shocks, interest rates have peaked. The question now is how long the Bank of England will hold rates at 5.25%. The Bank of England has four remaining meetings this year, with the next announcement due to take place on 1 August. 

Over the past few months, we have seen the MPC start to turn – however it remains visibly divided. In February and March’s meetings, one committee member voted for a rate cut. This increased to two committee members in May and June. 

The latest poll from Reuters showed that 80% of economists expect a rate cut in August, however markets are only pricing in a 45% chance of this happening, suggesting the decision could rest on a knife edge.

Services inflation seems to be the main factor that is keeping interest rates high, although wage growth is still coming in hot too at 5.7%. What’s more, May’s economic growth figure (0.4%) came in at double the rate expected when released on 11 July. 

“This snapshot of an economy growing a bit faster than forecast, could make Bank of England policymakers that bit more reticent about voting for an interest rate cut on 1 August,” says Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.  

The taxpayer stake in NatWest has been reduced after the Treasury sold £1.24 billion of its shares back to the bank.

The sell-off of 392.4 million shares brings the taxpayer stake in NatWest down from 25.98% to 22.5%.

"This transaction represents another important milestone for NatWest Group, building on recent momentum in the reduction of HM Treasury's stake in the bank,” says Paul Thwaite, chief executive of NatWest Group.

“We believe it is a positive use of capital for the bank and for our shareholders and represents further progress against the ambition to return NatWest Group to full private ownership. Our focus remains on delivering for our customers which will, in turn, deliver for our shareholders and the UK economy." 

It comes as a planned Tell Sid-style public offering of NatWest shares has been delayed due to the general election.

Research by abrdn suggests that if, or when, the NatWest share sale happens, there will be plenty of interest.

A survey of 3,000 adults adults by the asset manager found 23% were likely to buy the shares if the mooted NatWest share sale goes ahead – and that’s without a national advertising campaign.

That would be the equivalent of 12m people nationally.

But you don't have to wait for a public offer and can buy NatWest shares now if you want to.

How much of NatWest does the taxpayer own?

The Treasury, or the taxpayer, took a stake in NatWest-owner Royal Bank of Scotland at the height of the 2008 financial crises to prevent the lender from collapsing.

Its stake hit a high of 85% in 2009 but has gradually been reduced through share buybacks and institutional sales.

The taxpayer stake fell to around 38.6% last year before dropping to 25.98% more recently and 22.5% this week.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had signalled that NatWest could return to full public ownership this summer with a retail offering, but that has now been delayed by the general election.

Can I buy NatWest shares?

There is nothing stopping NatWest shares being sold without another public offering.

Retail investors can already purchase NatWest shares through a broker or investment platform.

It is a strong UK banking stock, with shares are up by around 44% so far this year and it pays a decent dividend yield of 5.35%.

It is less clear if and when a retail offering of the remaining taxpayer stake will happen though as it will depend on the general election result and the priorities of the new government.

For now, the Treasury has confirmed that no share offering of the taxpayer stake will take place during the election period.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a general election this July has delayed - and likely put paid to - several pieces of legislation.

Among the bills that the Conservative government had hoped to pass - but will now be consigned to the Parliamentary scrap heap - are the Renter’s Reform Bill and Sunak’s plan to create a ‘smoke-free generation’. Other laws, such as the Leasehold Reform Bill, have been pushed through at the last minute.

One government plan that could be facing the chop is the selling-off of the taxpayer’s remaining stake in NatWest. 

It comes amid increasing interest in UK share ownership. So, what’s happening to the policy?

What is the NatWest share sell-off?

At present, the UK government holds a 27% stake in the NatWest group - a collection of brands that includes the Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Coutts.

This significant shareholding is a legacy of the 2008 Financial Crisis, when Gordon Brown’s government opted to prop up several UK banks in a bid to protect consumer deposits. At the peak of this exercise, the public held an 84% stake.

Under the Conservatives, the plan had been to sell the taxpayer’s entire shareholding in NatWest by the 2025/2026 financial year. It’s expected a range of methods will be employed to achieve this, including accelerated bookbuilds and directed buybacks with NatWest, as well as via sales through the ongoing trading plan. Retail investors may also be able to get involved.

What has the government said about the NatWest share sell-off?

During March’s Spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt said a “sale would take place this summer at the earliest, subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money for the taxpayer". The accompanying Treasury documents said the “ongoing trading plan is making good progress against [its] objective, having now generated over £5.2 billion of proceeds since launch”.

But the plan could be delayed beyond the summer as a result of the general election announcement. MoneyWeek asked the Treasury whether there would be a delay. A spokesperson said: "A retail offer will not happen during the election period.”

The election will take place on 4 July, with Parliament set to be summoned to meet again on Tuesday 9 July. Early votes will focus on the election, or re-election, of the speaker and the swearing-in of MPs. The state opening of Parliament will not take place until Wednesday 17 July.

It means it could easily be August before a NatWest share sell-off begins, given it’s unlikely to be a top priority for the next government. The plan might not come to fruition until even later in the year if the next Chancellor wants to review it.

Should Labour form a government after the election, the timing of a sell-off may coincide with its first Budget. The party’s shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said this will take place in September.

Neither of the two major parties most likely to form the next government has so far announced what they will do with the NatWest shareholding if they win the election.

What’s been the reaction to the NatWest share sell-off delay?

Market analysts have urged the next party of government to consider reviving the NatWest sell-off.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said the delay was a “missed opportunity” to encourage new people into investing. He added: “The government offering its NatWest shares below market price could have encouraged more people to buy shares for the first time.

“While many adults aged 22 or older already put money into the stock market via a workplace pension thanks to the auto-enrolment scheme, a much smaller number of individuals will have bought shares directly. Getting some experience through the purchase of NatWest shares might have been the first step to fostering a longer-term habit of putting money into the market on a regular basis beyond workplace pension contributions.”

Coatsworth also said a sale could raise £6.5bn for the Treasury, if it sold its 26.95% stake at a 10% discount [costing correct as of 28 May]. It means it could be “a straightforward way to raise a significant amount of money” for the public purse.

Head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, Susannah Streeter, echoed Coatsworth. Looking at previous privatisation schemes, she said they had “super-charged investing habits” amongst novice investors.

She added that any sell-off “should be viewed as an opportunity to spread awareness about the importance of diversification, not putting too many eggs in one basket”.

Research by asset manager abrdn suggests that if, or when, the NatWest share sale happens, there will be plenty of interest.

It surveyed 3,000 adults and found  23% were likely to buy the shares if the mooted NatWest share sale goes ahead – and that’s without a national advertising campaign.

“It’s ironic that just as the UK stock market has started to pick up some momentum, the pause button has been pressed on the NatWest share sale as the UK heads to the polls," says Jason Windsor, interim chief executive at abrdn.

"The good news is that this presents an opportunity for the next government to take the time and space to get this right. That should mean opening up a broader conversation beyond NatWest with a campaign that focuses on the central role investing in the stock market can play in helping to build the savings and investing culture that the country dearly needs.”

NatWest's online banking and mobile app are back online after a service outage.

The high street bank’s retail and business banking customers had been unable to instantly access their current and savings accounts on Tuesday morning (28 May). The source of the issue has not yet been disclosed.

It means as many as 10 million customers may have been unable to instantly access their accounts. NatWest has apologised for the outage. Other NatWest Group brands, including the Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, have been unaffected.

It comes as the banking giant is in the midst of a major digital transition, with its brands set to shutter more than 50 high street branches in 2024. The government is lining up a sell-off of its remaining stake in NatWest, with the proposed move likely to take place as early as June.

Digital banking issues 'resolved', NatWest says

Between 5.40am and 9.30am on Tuesday, retail and business customers who tried to log into the NatWest online banking portal or mobile app were greeted with an error message.

But, in an update, the bank said the issue has now been fixed. Its spokesperson said: "We are aware that some customers were experiencing difficulties accessing NatWest mobile and online banking this morning. The issue has been resolved and customers are now able to log in as normal. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused."

NatWest has previously stated that around 10 million customers use its mobile banking app. The issue that hit the bank may have affected even more people given the figure does not cover online banking users.

Those attempting to log into their bank accounts on Tuesday morning were met with a message that said: "Something went wrong". This was followed by text which read: “We’re sorry, some kind of error has occurred when trying to establish a connection between your device and ourselves.”

People were then told to close the app and try again. However, according to the bank’s ‘service status’ page, NatWest’s digital services are down. The bank initially encouraged its customers to use telephone banking or visit a branch.

Choosing the best bank for your money isn’t always straightforward. From switching incentives and customer service to branch access, spending benefits and the interest rates on offer, there’s a lot to weigh up before deciding where your cash goes.

We look at the most and least popular banks in a separate guide, where Nationwide stood out thanks to its lucrative cash bonus, Fairer Share payments and top savings rates.

New analysis from Which? sheds light on the best and worst UK banks and bank accounts.

We look at the winners and losers, so you can see where your provider sits.

The best UK banks – how they rank

Which? asked thousands of customers how they would rate their banking providers. The data is based on several parameters, including ease of application and service in a bank branch, over the phone, online and app-based, and customer helplines.

In top place is Starling Bank, which is one of Which?’s recommended providers for the seventh consecutive year. The bank ranks highly in customer service and current account users are happy with its online banking service. Starling also launched a new AI banking tool that helps customers learn more about their spending habits.

Monzo is another one of Which?’s recommended providers. The challenger bank impresses customers with fee-free spending abroad, cashback on eligible spending and competitive savings rates, but falls short in customer helpline services.

First Direct is also in the top rankings – it’s one of only two banks which received full five stars for customer service and telephone banking. It also offers fee-free transactions abroad, and has an attractive bank switching deal.

Among more traditional high street staples, Nationwide ranks highly thanks to its extensive branch network. The building society has pledged to protect its branches from closures until at least 2030.

We look at the full results in the table below.

Source: Which? data based on a survey from September 2025. N/A means not enough responses for a star rating.

The best UK bank accounts – how they rank

Which? has analysed different bank accounts offered by bank and building societies. The parameters it has tested include interest paid, fee-free spending, interest-free overdraft and monthly fee.

Source: Which?. N/A means not enough responses for a product rating.

How to choose the best bank account for you

Despite the above findings, banking expert at Which?, Chiara Cavaglieri, says: “For too long, the biggest banks haven’t had to work very hard to keep customers, but challengers such as Monzo and Starling have quickly made their mark. They’ve forced bigger providers to innovate, and the result is a market where different providers shine in different areas. Even if you can’t bear to ditch your longstanding bank, think about what's important to you.”

With so many accounts to choose from, there are several factors to consider before you make a decision.

While a bank switching deal means customers have extra cash to cover the Christmas festivities, Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, warns against making hasty decisions.

“An upfront free cash injection is a great sweetener, but consumers should only ever switch accounts if the new deal offers them better value,” she said, pointing out that while free cash offers don’t last forever, customers shouldn’t feel pressured to switch.

If you’re after spending perks and travel benefits, it might be worth checking out the best packaged bank accounts.

Springall said: “If customers opt into a packaged account, one that bundles in benefits, then they could find it to be more cost-effective than taking out separate insurance policies elsewhere, like travel insurance or mobile phone insurance.”

We look at whether travel insurance is worth it in a separate guide.

“There is a plethora of different benefits to choose from, such as high interest current accounts, those with a competitive overdraft tariff, as well as packaged accounts with integrated insurance plans or even accounts that reward savers or spenders,” Springall added.

“Those consumers who plan to make frequent trips abroad can also find accounts that don’t charge them for using their debit card in an ATM or in-store, so they can avoid paying out on transaction fees compared to a more traditional bank account.”

FSCS scheme: Are your savings safe?

The Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects your savings and investments if a financial services firm goes bust.

This includes current accounts, savings accounts, Shariah-compliant accounts, ISAs, and more.

On 1 December 2025, the FSCS limit rose from £85,000 to £120,000. It means that you will be covered for up to £120,000 if your money is with an FSCS-protected institution.

You can check which institutions are covered on the FSCS website.

In his Budget speech before a crowded House of Commons, Jeremy Hunt announced a string of measures, including a 2p National Insurance cut, changes to the child benefit scheme, and the launch of a new British ISA.

He also reiterated the government’s plans to launch a NatWest retail share offer as early as this summer, “subject to market conditions and sales representing value for money”.

The government currently has a 33% stake in the bank, down from a peak of 84%, having stepped in to bail it out at the height of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. It is looking to fully exit its holding by 2025-2026. 

The Budget document states that the “ongoing trading plan is making good progress against [its] objective, having now generated over £5.2 billion of proceeds since launch”. 

It adds that “the government has raised over £14.5 billion of proceeds from sales of the NatWest shareholding to date”.

NatWest retail share offer – should you invest?

Investors are expecting the government to offer the shares at a discount to their full price to encourage interest, which could create an attractive entry point. This move would not be dissimilar to the “Tell Sid” privatisations of the 1980s.

UK banking stocks are currently undervalued, having taken a hit in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. This trend is seen in UK equities in general, which are still lagging behind their international peers to this day. 

Any additional discount that the UK government offers could allow investors to bag the shares at a bargain price – but would this be a good move?

NatWest released its latest results on 16 February, revealing its highest pre-tax profits since 2007. However, falling interest rate expectations going forward could mean that the bank’s earnings aren’t as strong going forward as they were in 2023. 

Of course, this wouldn’t affect NatWest alone, but would be a sector-wide issue.

Commenting on UK banking stocks in general during their recent results season, Owen Freshwater, investment manager at Evelyn Partners, told us that “it is difficult to find a near-term catalyst” for valuations improving. 

Despite this, banks can be a good buy for income-hungry investors. In its latest results announcement, NatWest showed a strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders in the form of a healthy 11.5p dividend per share. 

It also announced plans to launch a £300 million share buyback scheme in 2024.

Investors could get the chance to purchase remaining taxpayer shares in NatWest as the government considers selling its leftover stake in the bank.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s 2023 Autumn Statement included plans for the government to fully exit its shareholding in NatWest Group by 2025/2026.

Hunt said the government will explore a share sale to retail investors in the next 12 months, in what he described as “time to get Sid investing again.”

His comments referred to the 1986 Tell Sid campaign when the UK government was selling off British Gas in what was the biggest privatisation at the time.

“The ‘Tell Sid’ campaign was iconic in its day, and for some will conjure memories of their first ever experience owning shares and taking a stake in UK plc by investing in British Gas when the business was privatised,” says Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell.

“The sale of some of the government’s NatWest stake to retail investors will probably strike a chord with some of the original Sids and Sidesses, seeing as its appeal probably lies with an older demographic with a focus on income rather than growth.”

The government has been gradually reducing its stake since NatWest owner Royal Bank of Scotland was bailed out during the 2008 financial crisis but this would be the first time shares are offered to the public and not institutions.

It comes as UK bank stocks, including NatWest’s have fallen for much of the year as the cost of living crisis pushes up the risk of loan defaults.

This may make investors question the fundamentals of backing the bank.

How much of NatWest does the taxpayer own?

The Treasury, or the taxpayer’s stake in NatWest owner RBS reached a high of 84% at the height of the financial crisis in 2009 after the lender was bailed out to prevent it from collapsing.

It gradually reduced its shareholding as the bank recovered over the next decade to 62.4% and it was reduced to around 38.6% last year.

All these reductions were funded by share buybacks and sales to institutional rather than investors though.

How would a NatWest retail share offer work?

The Treasury said in the Autumn Statement document that it is committed to exiting its shareholding in NatWest.

It said it intends to fully exit by 2025/2026 utilising a range of disposal methods, including accelerated bookbuilds and directed buybacks with NatWest and also via continuing sales through the ongoing trading plan.

As part of the plan to return NatWest to the private sector, the Treasury said it will explore options to launch a share sale to retail investors in the next 12 months, “subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money.”

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown says giving retail investors a slice of ownership in NatWest is a welcome move given that they have been left out of previous sales.

It would take NatWest closer to full public ownership and bring to a close crisis actions taken during the financial crisis.

Is it worth buying NatWest shares?

NatWest is one of the 100 most bought investments by DIY investors on the AJ Bell platform so far this year, so it already has some attraction with private investors.

But Khalaf adds that its earnings growth isn’t likely to set the world on fire, especially when compared with the likes of Apple and Microsoft who are capitalising on the tech boom.

“The UK banking sector has been deeply unloved for years, and shares trade at lowly valuations. That does provide some upside potential for the share price should there be a positive reappraisal of the UK economy or the stock market, but that’s already been a long time coming,” he says.

“Probably more enticing for investors is the prospect of a 7% dividend yield which will help put bums on seats when the shares come to market. This yield will likely be boosted by a discount to the market price offered by the government. If there’s no discount, investors might as well buy shares on the open market.”

Streeter highlights that NatWest’s shares are down by almost a third since January, with a sharp fall prompted in October by disappointing third quarter figures.

“Markets were expecting a dip in net interest margin as consumers moved from non/low interest-bearing accounts to higher rate longer-term products in search of better returns, but the pace of switching took markets by surprise,” she says.

“NatWest isn't alone in facing this challenge. But as a more traditional bank, interest income is a big part of the pie.”

On a more positive note, Streeter says provisions set aside for debt defaults were better than first thought and full-year guidance remains intact.

“At the current valuation the potential for returns, as some of present headwinds ease off, look attractive for both the business and existing and new shareholders,” she says.

Users of iPhones are being offered an easier way to keep an eye on their bank account balance.

Many smartphone users will have banking apps on their phone that let you monitor your spending and send and receive money.

But logging in can be time consuming as you need to remember passwords and often go through two-factor authentication such as receiving text messages to confirm your own identity.

That can be frustrating if you just want to know how much is in your account.

A new Apple Wallet feature allows users to connect their credit and debit cards already stored in the Wallet app to their online accounts.

Users will then be able to see their up-to-date balance and other information without having to go to their dedicated banking app.

We have all the details on how it will works and whether it is safe.

How to check your bank balance in Apple Wallet

Many smartphone users are familiar with using their device to make contactless payments.

You upload your card details to your phone’s wallet and simply tap to pay.

The new feature will link these cards to the rest of your account information using open banking technology.

This effectively gives other parties access to your financial data to help you have more control of your money.

It is available if you bank with Barclays, Barclaycard, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, M&S Bank, Monzo, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The information will be accessible in the Wallet app, but will also appear when a user makes a purchase via Apple Pay online or in the app.

Apple said the new feature could help users make more informed purchases and get quick, simple access to see key information about their finances to help with budgeting.

iPhone users running the latest versions of iOS 17.1 will have access to the technology.

How secure is Apple Wallet?

The tech giant said the new feature had been built with privacy and security in mind and highlighted that before it is enabled users must authenticate through their financial provider’s website or app and consent to connect their accounts to their cards in the Wallet app.

Apple also confirmed that all user account balance information, transaction history and other account details are stored on device and not on Apple servers.

"By enabling users to conveniently access their most useful account information within Wallet and at the time of their purchase, they can make informed financial decisions and better understand and manage their spend,” says Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.

"We look forward to working with UK partners under the Open Banking initiative to help users better their financial health, and provide more ways in which banks can deepen their relationships with customers."

This deal is no longer available. Please see our best offers for switching banks guide for up-to-date deals. 

Bank switching services have been coming in waves this year, with some banks paying up to £205 for moving your everyday banking to them.

If you are looking to switch your current account, then this is a great way to bag some ‘free’ cash - though you will often have to close your existing current account and use the bank switching service to get the bonus. 

This week, high street giant Barclays has jumped in on the act, hoping to draw new customers in with a £175 switch bonus when they move their current account to Barclays. The account also gives you access to one of the best savings rates on easy access savings.

The incentive follows Barclays results last week, which revealed UK deposits in current accounts at the bank dropped 6%. But can the bank bring in new customers with its new switching bonus alongside a generous  5.12% savings rate for easy access? 

How to get the £175 Barclays bonus 

To get the bonus, you will have to close your existing current account and switch to Barclays using the Current Account Switch Service. The service is free and promises to shift your direct debits and other payments for you within 7 days. 

To qualify for the cash bonus, you must:

•  Open an account via the Barclays app (open a new account or join Premier Banking) 
•  Bring across at least two direct debits 
•  Join the Blue Rewards Scheme - you must deposit at least £800 a month to qualify for this 
• Sign up to online/mobile banking at £5 a month - but you get this back via cashback if you have a minimum of two direct debits
•  The account you open must be an individual one, not a joint one 
•  You must start the switch by 30 November and complete it within 30 days 
• You must not have any other Barclays accounts, or have ever held one. If you are switching to the Premier Account, you need to pay in an annual income of at least £75,000 or have at least £100,000 in savings or investments with Barclays. 

The switch bonus will be paid within 28 days as long as you meet the criteria.

How can I earn 5.12% on my cash savings? 

The 5.12% AER savings rate is for an easy access account and you only get it via the Blue Rewards Scheme, available to current account holders.

But, the rate is only available on balances of up to £5,000 - anything more and you'll simply earn 1.15%.

How does the rate compare to other savings? 

The rate is not far behind the next best rate for easy access, which is via Natwest owned Ulster Bank,  paying 5.2% interest.

You can also earn up to 15% cashback with Barclays Blue Rewards with some retailers when you link your debit card.

NatWest-owned Ulster Bank’s top 5.2% easy access saver account has remained on the market even as other rates have dropped.

Ulster Bank boosted the rate on its easy-access account back in October when competition in the savings market hit its peak. Lenders have been dropping their rates since November, but Ulster Bank’s deal is still available.

At the time, Ulster Bank upped its rate from 5% to 5.2% on its easy access account, and the saver went head to head with the likes of NS&I’s 6.2% one-year fixed bond, which was pulled after being on the market for only around five weeks. 

Despite a short life span on the best savings accounts plus falling savings rates, more than 1,000 accounts including this 5.2% saver by Ulster Bank now beat inflation. 

Ulster Bank’s savings account is also just below the base rate of 5.25%, which the Bank of England froze for the third time in December. 

This is among the top easy access accounts and is an attractive product for putting money aside, especially if you want somewhere for your emergency or short-term savings where you can earn a decent interest rate.

There are some restrictions though. We explain how Ulster Bank’s Loyalty Saver rate works.

Who can get Ulster Bank’s 5.2% Loyalty Saver rate?

Ulster Bank is based in Northern Ireland but this account is also open to residents across the UK over age 16.

You have to apply digitally and have a mobile number and email address to open an account but if you live in Northern Ireland you can get help in a branch. Otherwise, you will need to apply online through the Ulster Bank website.

It is open to new and existing Ulster Bank customers. If you already bank with Ulster Bank, you can use its Round Ups savings feature from the current account to put the extra money aside. 

You need at least £5,000 to get the 5.2% rate and anything below that will earn 2.25%. So, this is only a best-buy if you have at least £5,000 to save.

How does Ulster Bank’s Loyalty Saver work?

The Loyalty Saver account is opened and run completely online, so you need to be tech-savvy.

You will need to register for Ulster Bank’s internet banking services to access and manage your account.

It can be funded from any current or savings account in your name.

There are no limits on withdrawals and if you live in Northern Ireland you can also withdraw money in branch in addition to online and mobile.

Interest is paid annually, so you would earn £260 on a £5,000 deposit after 12 months. If you have less to save, take a look at Satander-owned Cahoot - which also pays 5.2% and you only need £1 to get started. But, you can only save up to £3,000.  

How does Ulster Bank’s Loyalty Saver compare with the rest of the market?

As with most easy-access deals, the 5.2% rate is variable so could change at any time. This means Ulster Bank could decide to reduce the rate once it has enough demand or it could even go up again if interest rates rise further. Savers will get 60 days’ notice of any changes.

You only get the 5.2% rate once you have £5,000 in the account so it may not be best for those with small savings pots. But if you have built up a big emergency stash or have large sums to set aside, this product could be attractive and has the added benefit of unlimited withdrawals if you require regular access.

But, Ulster Bank’s easy-access account is not the best rate on the market. 

Currently, Metro Bank is at the top of our best buy table, with its 5.22% Instant Access account which can be opened with £500. 

Yet, a lot of top easy-access accounts come with hidden restrictions, so the rate offered might put the account at the top of our best buy table, but it may not be a feasible option for many. 

For example, Santander’s Edge Saver is offering a whopping 7%, but it is only available to Santander edge customers, and the 7% rate includes a bonus rate of 2.5% which could be dropped at anytime. 

As mentioned, Cahoot’s Sunny Day saver also offers 5.2% like Ulster Bank, but you can only save up to £3,000 a year. 

Better savings rates are on offer if you are willing to lock your money away for a short period. You can earn up to 5.5% if you fix your savings for a year with Al Rayan Bank.  

Are easy access savings rates falling? 

Lenders have been dropping the rates on the best easy-access savings accounts, though they have been a lot more steady than fixed savings, which has seen daily drops since November. 

So far, there has been no rate falls on easy-access accounts in the new year. But in December, MoneyWeek saw four easy access savings deals pulled and three accounts fall in rate. 

Plus, experts believe we have hit the peak of interest rate hikes as inflation has lowered (but not reached the 2% target), and that the base rate could fall which would push savings rates down further. 

Sarah Coles at Hargreaves Lansdown warns: “At the moment the market is pricing in for the Bank of England to cut rates as early as May, and while that consensus holds, we can expect savings rates to keep falling.”

Credit card customers are being hit with record-high APRs and shorter 0% balance transfer deals.

Tesco Bank recently reduced its market-leading 0% balance transfer offer from 29 months down to 27 months. Last month, Virgin Money cut its 28-month 0% balance transfer deal to 26 months.

It means the longest balance transfer card is now Barclaycard (28 months), according to Moneyfacts. A year ago, the best deal was 30 months.

"Interest-free offers have unfortunately worsened in terms of the time given to borrowers to pay back their debt before interest applies," comments Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk.

The average balance transfer deal for someone trying to consolidate their credit card debt is 17 months, down from 20 months two years ago.

Meanwhile, the average purchase APR (annual percentage rate) on a credit card is at a record high of 35.6%.

This is despite interest rates being lowered at the start of the month - the first cut since 2020. The Bank of England base rate is now at 5%.

Oliver Crawford from the consumer group Fairer Finance notes: “We always encourage borrowers to repay their transferred debt entirely during the 0% period, otherwise they'll face a much higher APR.”  

Fairer Finance is calling on credit card providers to improve their communications so customers understand exactly how balance transfer cards work, and don’t get caught out by small print. For example, by making it as clear as possible that customers can potentially lose their 0% period entirely if they miss a repayment.

According to the consumer group, providers should also do more to explain that 0% balance transfer cards generally aren't suitable for making purchases or cash withdrawals, because that spending will usually accrue interest until the entire balance transfer is cleared.

Should I use a 0% balance transfer credit card?

An interest-free balance transfer card can be a useful way to slash the cost of existing credit card debt. It can save you hundreds of pounds in interest payments - but you must try and repay all the money you owe before the 0% period finishes, or you’ll get stung by a high interest rate.

According to Springall, parents who have spent too much in the school holidays may be looking to shift credit card debt onto a 0% deal, while others may have maxed out their credit cards on home improvements during the summer.

Note that the maximum 0% offer is not available to everyone; so some borrowers will get the highest amount (say 25 months), while others will get less.

You should also watch out for the balance transfer fee, and any other charges and small print. 

And always avoid spending on it, or withdrawing cash. (If you’re looking for an interest-free credit card for spending, check out our round-up of the best 0% credit card deals for purchases.)

Springall comments: "Consumers looking to consolidate their credit card debts would typically turn to a 0% balance transfer offer, particularly when their existing debt is incurring interest at a high rate. 

"Those who do use these deals will usually have to pay a balance transfer fee, so it’s wise to keep this in mind if debts are going to be moved around often over the short term. Some of the longest interest-free balance transfer offers carry higher transfer fees, but there are still some fee-free offers for borrowers to consider instead."

Where can I find the best rates right now?

The longest balance transfer deal is currently the Barclaycard Platinum 28-Month Balance Transfer Visa. At the end of the 28 months, the interest rate jumps to 24.9% APR. 

The deal also comes with a chunky 3.45% balance transfer fee, which is higher than most; balance transfer fees are often less than 3%.

Here are the longest balance transfer cards on the market right now, according to Moneyfacts. 

It’s important to know that you may not get the full duration of the 0% offer, as this will depend on your credit rating. To see what you could get, use an eligibility checker, like the one on our sister site GoCompare to see what balance transfer card you can get. 

If you’re looking for a no-fee balance transfer credit card, check our 0% balance transfer cards best buy guide to see the top rates on the market. 

The chief executive of high-street bank Natwest Alison Rose has stepped down after revealing she was the source behind an untrue story about former UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

She admitted to incorrectly telling the BBC that Farage’s account at exclusive lender and NatWest subsidiary Coutts had been closed purely due to commercial reasons - a story the broadcaster was forced to amend and has apologised for.

Internal documents obtained by Farage show his political views were part of the equation when the bank weighed up on whether to retain him as a customer, contrary to what Dame Rose said.

In a statement, NatWest Group chairman, Sir Howard Davies said: “The board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group. It is a sad moment.”

In a separate statement, Rose said: “I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth.”

Rose, who had served as chief executive of the group for four years, previously apologised to Farage after it emerged the bank had described the seven-time MP candidate as “xenophobic and racist"

In the letter, she said: “freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society and it is absolutely not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views".

Now, the government has waded in promising to protect “freedom of expression” to alleviate fears that banks are terminating accounts because they disagree with someone’s political beliefs.

New rules to boost transparency 

Under the new requirements, banks will be forced to increase the notice period to 90 days – giving customers more time to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service, or find a replacement bank.

Banks will also be required to spell out why they are terminating a bank account – boosting transparency for customers and aiding their efforts to overturn decisions.

The government said the changes can only be made due to new powers in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 - policy introduced following Brexit.

Economic secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith, said: “Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy, and it must be respected by all institutions.

“Banks occupy a privileged place in society, and it is right that we fairly balance the rights of banks to act in their commercial interest, with the right for everyone to express themselves freely.

“These changes will boost the rights of customers - providing real transparency, time to appeal and making it a much fairer playing field.”

What is debanking?

While the dispute between Farage and Coutts has caught the attention of the public, bubbling beneath the surface is an important story on the extent to which banks can refuse business with people or businesses that may bring reputational risks.

The proposed changes follow a call for evidence launched in January.

Dubbed “de-banking”, the phenomenon has risen to the fore in recent years. In 2021, PayPal blocked a fundraising site after it raised money for people who attended the January 6 attack on the Capitol in Washington D.C, sparking outrage.

The UK government said changes were needed to ensure customers knew why any action is being taken against them while providing banks the right to manage their commercial risk.

FCA chair, Ashley Alder, said: “For banks as well as other commercial enterprises, it’s fundamentally up to them to choose who they do business with.”

The new regulations will be powered by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, as part of the Government’s programme in building a Smarter Regulatory Framework for UK financial services.

This runs alongside separate plans to clarify in legislation the requirements for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), and a review into whether these are being applied proportionately by financial institutions.  

These steps were commissioned by Parliament last month as part of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, and the FCA will set out how they intend to conduct the review by the end of September.

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Variable and tracker mortgages are now more than twice as popular compared to just over six months ago, according to analysis, as higher borrowing costs have switched up borrower behaviour.

Borrowers are increasingly interested in shorter-term fixed deals – such as two year fixes instead of five year fixes – as mortgage rates have risen sharply in recent weeks, search activity on the Moneyfacts website found.

Yet at the same time, more people are thinking about taking a punt on the future path of interest rates with a variable or tracker rate mortgage, in the hope money markets have overblown expectations of rate rises and the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee starts to cut the base rate again.

Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfacts, said: “The economic consequences of the conflict in the Middle East have turned interest rate expectations on their head, pushing up borrowing costs and changing borrower behaviour.

“With fixed mortgage rates rising sharply in a short space of time, more borrowers appear willing to gamble on rates falling sooner than markets currently expect.”

How mortgage rates have risen

Home buyers would have been hoping for a fall in mortgage costs in 2026, but ongoing tensions in the Middle East since the end of February have put pricing into flux.

Borrowers were starting to benefit from falling rates at the start of the year, with interest rates steadily falling as inflation slowed to 3%, but mortgage pricing surged in March following the US-Israeli invasion of Iran.

Peace talks in recent weeks have led to the market cooling somewhat, however rates are still significantly higher than prior to the conflict.

For example, the average two year fixed rate mortgage was 4.85% on 1 February. By 15 May that had risen to 5.75% – an increase of 90 basis points.

For a five year fix, the rise has not been quite as big. On 1 February the average rate was 4.94%. As of 15 May it was 5.67% – a rise of 73 basis points.

By comparison, on 1 February, prior to the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the surrounding Middle East, the average two year variable rate mortgage was 4.41%. On 15 May it was 4.56%, an increase of just 15 basis points.

Interest in variable and tracker mortgages increases

Variable and tracker mortgages remain a minority choice. But the increase in interest in these mortgages points to a view among borrowers that rates could ease in the near term.

“Tracker and discounted variable mortgages can appear more attractive when fixed rates rise quickly, as they typically start lower,” said French.

However, he pointed out, they also pass much more of the risk of future base rate or standard variable rate changes directly onto the borrower, rather than the lender taking on that risk through a fixed-rate product.

Borrowers also seem keen on hedging their bets with shorter-term fixed options. With five-year fixes rising by more than 70 basis points since February, according to Moneyfacts data, many borrowers appear to be favouring two-year deals in the hope the current spike in rates proves temporary.

What is driving mortgage rates?

An interest rate cut in December had helped mortgage pricing fall below 5% and even below 4% in some cases, prompting a drop in mortgage rates in the build up to the new year, as the cost of borrowing was expected to continue falling.

At the start of the year, the Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had been expected to lower interest rates twice in 2026, but instead it has held rates at its last three meetings in February, March and April.

The base rate has stayed at 3.75% since the start of 2026 and swap rates, which help determine the cost of fixed-rate mortgages, surged after the outbreak of the conflict in Iran. This caused mortgage rates to rise rapidly.

The rate of increase in swap rates has slowed in recent weeks, although they remain significantly higher than prior to tensions in the Middle East.

We reveal how to get the best deal when remortgaging.

What are swap rates?

Swap rates are agreed between financial institutions, like a lender and an insurance company, and refer to the rate of interest one agrees to pay the other in return for funds over a set period of time.

Ultimately, they reflect the wholesale cost of funding for banks that influences how they price credit such as loans and mortgages.

This means that if swap rates go higher, it’s more expensive for the lender to borrow and it will have to hike rates on its mortgage products.

Swap rates are based on what markets believe will happen to interest rates and inflation in the future.

With the ongoing conflict in Iran stoking fears that inflation could spike globally, leading to higher interest rates, this has seen swap rates rise.

In turn, lenders have been pushing up their mortgage rates as it becomes more expensive for them to borrow money.

What is the forecast for interest rates?

What happens with mortgage rates depends on the direction of interest rates. At the start of the year, the BoE had been expected to cut interest rates twice in 2026. However, the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February scuppered these plans.

In its April meeting, the MPC again voted to maintain interest rates at 3.75%. Huw Pill, the Bank's chief economist, was the only member of the Bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee to vote for a rate rise.

Predictions about the future direction of interest rates will drive mortgage rates. And what happens with interest rates will largely depend on inflation – the cost of goods and services, which are heavily influenced by energy prices.

At its April meeting, the MPC again pointed to how the war in the Middle East is disrupting the supply of energy, raising its price and pushing up households’ motor fuel costs; “we expect utility bills to increase as well”, it said.

Inflation increased by 3.3% in the 12 months to March – higher than the MPC predicted in February, before the start of the war, and largely driven by increases in transportation costs, especially motor fuels. “It is likely that it will be higher later this year,” the Committee said.

It also expects energy price rises to have knock-on effects. As businesses’ bills go up, it is likely they will increase their own prices to cover the cost and workers may ask for higher wages as their bills also rise.

“The impact on the economy and inflation will depend on how much energy prices go up and how long they stay raised,” the MPC said.

Given the context, some economists now believe the MPC is likely to hold rates in 2026, and perhaps even raise them.

Advisory firm Oxford Economics believes the MPC will hold rates where they are until 2027.

Meanwhile, Pantheon Macroeconomics expects interest rates to be hiked twice in 2026, followed by three cuts in 2027.

The Bank of England appeared to sound its concerns over future interest rates in its most recent Monetary Policy Summary report in April.

In it were three scenarios that could occur due to energy shocks caused by the Iran conflict, with the worst-case scenario suggesting inflation will peak at 6.2% in early 2027, in which case interest rates could rise as high as 5.25%.

However, on 18 May, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Bank of England will not need to raise interest rates this year to combat the effects of rising energy costs.

The IMF has assessed UK monetary policy is already "sufficiently restrictive to ensure that second-round effects from higher energy prices to inflation are contained”, it said in its latest update on the state of the UK economy.

The report also upgraded its forecast for UK economic growth this year to 1%, up from the 0.8% figure it had expected only last month.

Should you fix your mortgage?

If you are one of the estimated 1.8 million people on a fixed-rate mortgage that is expiring this year, according to UK Finance, it could be a good idea to hedge your bets and fix now.

Fixed rates can offer you certainty over what you’ll pay in interest over the course of the deal, even if rates do rise.

Plus, under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) mortgage charter, you can lock in a new fixed-rate deal six months before your current one is due to end and then shift to another, more competitive one, later on.

Mendes, from John Charcol, said: “In this kind of market, the better approach is often to lock in an affordable option and then switch if pricing improves before completion.”

What about variable mortgage rates?

Standard Variable Rate mortgages – the ones borrowers tend to roll onto once their fixed rate deal comes to an end – are still an expensive option. The average Standard Variable Rate (SVR) was 7.13% as of 1 May, according to Moneyfacts.

Those on a high SVR would be wise to switch onto a fixed rate now. Even if fixed rates fall further, the money saved from getting rid of an expensive SVR earlier could make it worth it.

You could also opt for a tracker mortgage which more directly follows the BoE base rate.

David Hollingworth, associate director at mortgage broker L&C Mortgages, said: “Anyone that is sitting on a standard variable rate because they are hoping for more drops in fixed deals should consider whether a tracker would be a better option.

“The SVR is likely to be substantially higher and even if fixed rates do reduce over time, each month on SVR could be costing a lot more.”

What about buy-to-let mortgage rates?

Buy-to-let fixed mortgage rates have soared due to unrest in the Middle East.

The average two-year rate was at 4.65% on 2 March, but sits at 5.35% as of 18 May, according to Moneyfacts. The five-year rate was at 5.04% on 2 March, but 5.66% as of 18 May.

Overall buy-to-let product choice has fallen sharply since the start of the conflict in the Middle East too. On March 2, there were 5,696 buy-to-let mortgage products available but just 5,052 on 18 May, according to Moneyfacts.

Despite recent buy-to-let mortgage rate increases, they are still considered competitive compared to how high they have been over the past few years – they were pushing 7% in the summer of 2023.

Landlords will have been hoping for a fall in mortgage rates later this year to help offset the 5% stamp duty surcharge, less generous mortgage interest tax relief and higher income tax charges on property introduced in the 2025 Autumn Budget and coming into effect in April 2027.

Landlords have also had to ensure they meet the new Renters’ Rights Act rules, which came into force on 1 May. In addition, they will be expected to invest up to £10,000 to reach an EPC rating of C by October 2030. Growing costs could dampen the profitability of buy-to-let.

What mortgage support is available?

Mortgage rates are much higher than when many people would have last remortgaged. Some homeowners will be coming off rates as low as 1% or 2%.

If you’re struggling to make your mortgage repayments, the good news is that lenders representing 90% of the mortgage market have signed up to the government’s mortgage charter. They include the big banks like Halifax, HSBC and Santander and building societies like Nationwide, Leeds and Skipton.

The charter is a series of support measures intended to help those in difficulty. Borrowers will be able to make a temporary change to their mortgage for six months to give them some breathing space, such as switching to interest-only payments or extending their mortgage term to reduce their monthly payments. Customers have the option to revert to their original term within six months by contacting their lender.

About 1.7 million mortgages have benefitted from the mortgage charter since it was introduced in June 2023, according to the City watchdog.

Meanwhile, there is a 12-month delay before repossession proceedings can start against those who have missed payments. Regardless of whether your lender has signed up to the charter, all lenders also have a range of measures in place for customers experiencing difficulties.

Should I overpay my mortgage?

If you’ve got some spare cash and you're on a low rate, overpaying your mortgage can be a good way to protect yourself before your mortgage deal expires and you have to remortgage at a higher rate.

Our mortgage overpayment calculator shows how your monthly repayments will change and help you decide if it is worth it.

Recent research from finance broker Clifton Private Finance found someone on a £250,000 mortgage paying it off over 25 years at 5% could save £40,000 in interest and shave four years off the term by overpaying by just £150 a month.

“You can’t control the market, but you can control how you respond to it. Rates change, lenders adjust their products, and the wider environment is always shifting,” said George Abouzolof, senior mortgage advisor at Clifton.

“But choosing whether to overpay your mortgage, and by how much, is entirely within your control. It’s one of the few levers homeowners can pull to improve their long-term financial position.”

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)  has told some of the country’s biggest banks to boost progress on improving savings rates for customers amid accusations of profiteering. 

Currently, the top savings accounts are offering rates of up to 7% for existing customers, but the industry average is well below this.  

Following a meeting with bank bosses, including those from HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest, the regulator said the lenders recognised they “needed to do more to help their consumers access the best rates.” 

But Sheldon Mills, FCA executive director for competition, said "It's not for me to set rates for banks." 

Banks under pressure due to low savings rates 

Despite the soaring cost of loans and mortgages, banks have been attacked for not passing higher interest rates onto savers. 

According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.52%, with the savings rate on offer from some high street banks well below that figure. Despite increases in recent days, the average one-year fixed savings rate is 4.83%.

The FCA said: “We have started to see some positive action by banks and building societies to improve their rates, and to ensure their customers are benefiting from better value products. We now want to see that progress accelerate.”

The meeting comes ahead of the Consumer Duty roll out - a new string of regulations the FCA said will “put consumer interests at their heart… to ensure their customers are benefiting from better value products.”

High street banks are also facing pressure from MPs. Earlier this week, the cross-party Treasury Committee wrote to the banks asking whether they believe all their savings rates “provide fair value” to customers. 

Dame Angela Eagle, a member of the Treasury Committee, said: “This blatant profiteering has been shocking, and it’s clear to me this behaviour is miles away from the incoming requirement for firms to treat their customers fairly and with respect.”

"With interest rates on the rise and our constituents feeling squeezed by rising prices, it is only right that the UK's biggest banks step up their measly easy-access savings rates," Harriett Baldwin, chair of the committee, said in a statement. 

Banks boost rates in response

The good news is, banks seem to be getting the message. Ahead of the meeting with the FCA, HSBC unveiled a 0.65% increase on Fixed Rate Saver accounts  - its one-year Fixed Rate Saver increased to 5.05% and two-year Fixed Rate Saver is now 5.1%.

Lloyds is also boosting its rates across its Fixed Rate Cash ISAs from 12 July. Its one-year fix will increase by half a percentage point to 5.45%, with its two-year fix rising to 5.5%.

But any reprieve in cash savings rates is “being drowned out by the stubborn persistence of high inflation,” said Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at interactive investor. 

“Those who can afford to put money away for five years or more should consider investing for the potential of long-term inflation-beating returns that far outstrip savings rates,” he said.

Compounding the problem is the issue of inertia, with many savers not shopping around for better rates. £250 billion is sitting in bank and building society accounts paying no interest, while £945 billion is in instant access accounts.

At the same time, banks are recording booming profits. 

NatWest reported a 50% bump in profits during the first quarter of 2023 to £1.9bn, while Lloyds filed a pre-tax profit of £2.26 billion, up 46.4% year on year. Barclays reported pre-tax profits of £2.6 billion, up 27%. HSBC meanwhile tripled its quarterly profits to $12.9bn.

In a statement issued alongside its quarterly report, HSBC said the surging profits were a result of “higher net interest income in all of our global businesses due to interest rate rises.”

Bank bosses have been summoned to a meeting with the financial watchdog to discuss concerns surrounding interest rates for savers lagging behind the cost of mortgages.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expects chief executives from HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays, as well as from smaller lenders, to attend on Thursday amid allegations of “blatant profiteering”.

Higher interest rates have resulted in banks increasing mortgage rates sharply, yet savings rates are not rising at the same pace. 

The average easy access savings rate today (5 July) is 2.48% while the average 1-year fixed savings rate is 4.80%, according to Moneyfacts. 

Meanwhile, the average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate is 6.51% and the average 5-year fixed residential mortgage rate is 6.02%.

The Bank of England raised its base rate to 5% last month and further increases are now expected.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said it is an “issue that needs solving” amid households struggling with the cost of living crisis.

But sources were playing down the likelihood of a charter being drawn up in the vein of the one agreed between Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the big mortgage lenders.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wanted to deliver “better deals for savers”.

The Prime Minister told the Commons Liaison Committee: “What the Chancellor said is the issue needs to be resolved.

“I know that he has met recently with the FCA and they have agreed to deliver better deals for savers by driving competition and increasing reporting, which I think they are doing in the next few weeks, in particular, to make sure that savers are benefiting from higher interest rates.

MPs on the Treasury Committee were stepping up their campaign to increase saving rates for lenders, which are failing to keep up with soaring mortgages.

They wrote to the four biggest lenders demanding answers to their concerns that saving rates are “too low” in the light of the base interest rate reaching 5%.

Dame Andrea Leadsom, the former Cabinet minister who sits on the committee, said that “it’s quite clear they have failed to pass on the rise in interest rates to savers”.

Colleague Dame Angela Eagle added: “This blatant profiteering has been shocking, and it’s clear to me this behaviour is miles away from the incoming requirement for firms to treat their customers fairly and with respect.”

From the end of July, a new consumer duty will be introduced to force financial firms to put consumers at the heart of what they do.

THE BEST SAVING RATES

Even though returns on cash savings accounts are still negative in real terms as inflation at 8.7% eats away at even the most competitive savings rates, if you have cash lingering in an account that pays a poor return, then here’s where you can shift your money to to get a boost.

The best easy-access savings account pays 4.21% from Chip Instant Access Saver. It is only available to existing customers and managed in-app.

The best savings account for existing customers is First Direct’s Regular Saver that pays 7% for 12 months. Monthly savings are limited to a maximum of £300.

Meanwhile, the best one-year fixed savings account is with My Community Bank and pays 6.03%. It has a minimum deposit of £1,000.

For more on savings rates, see our Best savings accounts July 2023. 

If you’re unhappy with your current account, switching banks by taking advantage of the best bank switching offers can be a good way to move your money and get ‘free’ cash in the process.

More than a million bank account switches took place last year, according to the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). Nationwide recorded the largest net gain, attracting 41,450 customers. Digital bank Monzo ranked second with 9,934 switches, followed by NatWest with 8,731. We delve into the most and least popular banks among customers in a separate piece.

Kalpana Fitzpatrick, editor of MoneyWeek.com, says: “Bank switching deals are a great incentive for anyone looking to move banks. But, before you switch, make sure the bank you are moving to offers what you need – don’t switch just because there is a cash bonus on offer.”

There are currently six bank switching offers on the market, with incentives of up to £250 in cash, as much as £750 in cashback, or a signature experience worth £600.

We round up the deals available now and explain how to qualify for the bonus.

The best bank switching offers

NatWest – get up to £250

NatWest is offering £250 to new and existing customers who didn’t have a NatWest current or savings account as of 10 March 2026. To qualify for the switching bonus, you must:

• Open a NatWest Premier account and complete a switch using CASS
• Pay in £5,000 within 60 days (either as a single deposit or in multiple instalments)
• Log in to the NatWest mobile app

The £250 will be credited automatically within 30 days of meeting the requirements.

Customers can also earn up to £9 a month through NatWest’s rewards programme. This includes setting up two Direct Debits, 1% cashback at select retailers, and £1 per month for logging in to the app. Once the balance reaches £5, you can redeem the rewards for cash or vouchers.

Get up to £750 in savings interest

Alongside the switching offer, NatWest is offering a savings bonus worth up to £750 to customers who deposit £100,000 into its Flexible Saver account. This means high earners could get up to £1,000 from NatWest.

Here’s how to qualify:

• Deposit £100,000 into the account
• Maintain the balance for at least 30 consecutive days.

You don’t need to wait to receive the £250 switching bonus before opening the Flexible Saver.

In order to be eligible for a NatWest Premier account, you must meet at least one of these criteria:

• Have an income of at least £100,000 or £120,000 in joint income
• At least £100,000 held in savings or investments with NatWest
• A NatWest mortgage of at least £500,000

However, it’s worth noting that NatWest Group is closing 18 more bank branches by 2027, so if your local branch is shutting down and you prefer in-person banking, it may not be suitable for you to switch.

HSBC – get £220

HSBC’s switching offer is offering new customers £220 for switching to an HSBC UK bank account. Here’s how to qualify:

• Complete a full switch with CASS
• Transfer two direct debits
• Deposit at least £2,000
• Spend £500 on your HSBC debit card

Once you meet the requirements, you will receive the bonus within 60 days.

This offer isn’t available for existing HSBC or First Direct customers, or those who have held an account with either of the banks since January 2023. You will need to apply for the switch on the HSBC app.

Barclays – get £200

Barclays is offering £200 to new customers who open a current account with the bank. To qualify, you need to follow these steps:

• Open a Barclays Bank Account through the Barclays app.
• Complete a full switch, including at least two direct debits.
• Deposit a minimum of £2,000 within 30 days of opening the account.

Once you’ve followed these steps, you’ll receive the £200 in your new account within 28 working days. The switching offer ends on 27 August 2026.

Get a premier experience worth up to £600

Barclays is offering an experience-led reward worth up to £600 for customers who switch to its Premier account. You will need to follow these steps to qualify:

• Open a Premier account using the Barclays app
• Complete a full switch, including moving two direct debits
• Pay in at least £4,000 within 30 days

After you open the account, you can choose from four types of high-end experiences:

• Dining: Restaurant experiences at select UK venues, including the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants. Specially curated menus for Barclays customers, wine pairings, welcome drinks and £50 Uber credit.
• Stay: Luxury UK hotel stays with select partners such as De Vere, Dakota Hotels and Harbour Hotels, including champagne on arrival, a three-course meal, spa access and complimentary breakfast.
• Live events: Tickets to stadium concerts at Wembley, sporting fixtures like England cricket at Headingley and exclusive matchday perks.
• Family: Annual passes to Merlin Entertainments’ attractions, tickets, food and drinks at Cineworld and Picturehouse Cinemas.

Moreover, with a Barclays Premier account, you can get free Apple TV, cashback on spending, improved savings rates, rewards like free drinks from GAIL’s, and 5% cashback at Tesco fuel.

However, in order to qualify for the Premier account, you will need:

• An annual income of £75,000
• At least £100,000 in savings or investments with Barclays

You will not be eligible for the switching offer if you opened an account with Barclays before 9 June 2026.

First Direct – get up to £200

First Direct’s switching bonus is offering new customers £200 if they open an account before 15 July. To qualify for the bonus, you will have to complete the following steps within 45 days:

• Deposit a minimum of £1,000 (in single or multiple deposits) in your account.
• Switch at least two direct debits or standing orders into your First Direct account.
• Register and log on to digital banking.
• Use your debit card at least five times.

Once all the steps are completed successfully, the £200 bonus will be paid to your account on the 20th of the following month.

You are not eligible if you've held an HSBC current account on or after 1 January 2018.

The account gives you access to its 7% regular saver. Plus, there are no fees when spending abroad, and the current account comes with a £250 interest-free overdraft, although this depends on your credit history.

Santander – get £180

Santander’s £180 switching deal is for both new and existing customers. To qualify, you must do the following:

• Complete a full switch using the CASS within 60 days of opening your account
• Pay £1,500 into the account either as a one-off payment or in instalments.
• Set up two direct debits in the eligible account.

Eligible accounts include Santander Everyday, Edge (£3 monthly fee), Edge Up (£5 monthly fee) and Edge Explorer (£17 monthly fee).

The bonus will be paid within 90 days of initiating the switch.

Existing customers can get the bonus by transferring £1,500 from an account held with a different provider to their new Santander account using the bank’s switch service. Plus, they will need to set up two direct debits.

Santander is closing 44 bank branches this year, so if your local branch is closing and you prefer in-person banking, it may not be suitable for you to switch to Santander.

Nationwide – get £175

Nationwide is offering a £175 bonus to new customers. You can get the cash by switching a non-Nationwide current account into a new or existing FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount.

To qualify, you must complete the following:

• Use the CASS to complete a full switch within 28 days.
• Pay in at least £1,000 and make at least one debit card transaction within 31 days.
• Switch over a minimum of two Direct Debits.

You’ll receive the bonus within ten days of meeting all the requirements.

Alongside the new switching offer, Nationwide has also launched a 5% Member Exclusive Bond and has started paying its £100 Fairer Share bonus to over four million members for the fourth consecutive year.

How to switch bank accounts

The Current Account Switch Service makes it quick and painless to switch banks, as the banks are required to do the legwork and complete the switch within seven working days. All you do is open a new current account and request a switch via CASS. The service will then close your old account and move all your money, direct debits and standing orders to your new account within seven days.

Plus, for three years, any money that is paid into your old bank account or tries to leave that account will automatically be put into your new account. Still, it is important to remember that while these offers might look attractive, you should only switch to an account that suits your needs, as some accounts may also charge a monthly fee.

You should always check the terms and conditions to make sure you qualify for the bonus before you start the switch process. If you're applying for any credit in the next six months, such as a mortgage, it's also worth being aware that switching bank accounts could affect your credit score.

We’ve picked out three stocks to buy that should perform well in a high interest rate environment as inflation remains stubbornly high.

Indeed, even though central banks around the world have raised interest rates to highs not seen since the 2008 financial crisis in response to double-digit inflation, it does not look as if inflation is going to fall any time soon, suggesting rates could remain high for some time.

In the UK the Monetary Policy Committee raised rates to 4%. In the US the Federal Reserve raised rates to between 4.5 to 4.75%, and the European Central Bank’s base rate sits at 2.5%.

A high interest rate environment spells bad news for investors. In theory high interest rates discourage spending and encourage saving. Reduced consumer demand doesn’t bode well for companies.

High interest rates also push up the cost of borrowing, meaning companies with lots of debt are likely to struggle. That said, there’s a few sectors that are more sheltered from broader conditions, and might even benefit from them.

Here are our three favourite stocks to buy in the current interest rate environment.

3 stocks to buy in a high interest rate environment

NatWest (LSE: NWG)

Banks benefit from rising interest rates because their net interest margin expands. This means they make a profit from charging a higher rate on products such as loans and mortgages, than they pay on deposits, like savings accounts.

The bank’s net interest margin, the difference between what it pays out and what it receives in interest payments, widened to 2.85% in 2022 from 2.30% in 2021. The wider the gap, the higher the bank’s profits.

NatWest predicts interest rates will hold at 4% throughout 2023. The bank recorded profits of £5.1bn before tax in its 2022 full year results, up from £3.8bn a year earlier.

Additionally the bank announced a £800m share buyback programme, as well as a dividend of 10p per share as a reward to shareholders.

But despite the positive results, NatWest’s share price dropped by about 9% after the figures were released. This is largely due to the bank’s subdued outlook for 2023, combined with uncertainty around the UK economy for the year.

Higher interest rates also mean more people are likely to default on their loans. The bank has set aside £337m to prepare itself for defaults.

Still, the lender thinks its customers “are so far resilient”, with bad debt losses coming in at 0.09% of the loan book, “and much of that was assumptions about what’s coming next, rather than loans that have already soured”.

The bank has come a long way since it was bailed out by the government in the wake of the financial crisis. Today it looks well poised to navigate future turmoil, and will continue to benefit from the high interest rates environment.

Diageo (LSE: DGE)

Odds are, if you drink alcohol, you’ve probably tried at least one of Diageo’s products. The spirit maker owns over 200 well-known, well-loved brands, including Guinness, Baileys and Captain Morgan rum.

Consumers turn to these brands because they’re well-known, and they might prefer them to a supermarket’s own brand, for instance. This gives the company pricing power, enabling it to pass costs onto consumers.

That’s evidenced in Diageo’s interim results, released in January. Despite price increases to its beers, net sales were up 18% showing consumers are willing to pay a higher price for their drinks.

Additionally a lot of its brands are considered premium, consumed by drinkers with more discretionary income. As such, demand is less likely to be affected by inflation and the cost of living.

In its interim results announced in December, Diageo announced it had commenced a share buyback programme due to return £500m to investors as well as a 5% increase to its dividend, which has grown consistently over the last few years.

The company has also caught on to the fact younger people are drinking less, so it’s investing in non-alcoholic drinks to expand its portfolio.

Diageo has a simple business model and solid products, which should support the business through these tough times.

AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN)

The need for healthcare is going to exist no matter the economic climate, so despite peaks and troughs, pharmaceutical companies will likely always have a level of demand for their products.

AstraZeneca is perhaps most known for its Covid-19 vaccine. But the company has a wide range of treatments, and a lot of projects in its pipeline.

Additionally, due to patents, it has a certain level of protection over its products. While other companies might be making similar drugs, these patents and strong relationships with health providers gives it a certain level of pricing power.

The vaccine boosted its share price throughout the pandemic, but it’s likely got further to go. Demand for its cancer treatment, which is a big and growing part of its portfolio, is strong and, unfortunately, unlikely to diminish.

Moreover, the world’s population is ageing, which means more people will require medical treatment.

It looks expensive, but shares could continue to grow as more of its drugs are released and approved. These processes take time, and patents expire, but long term investors will continue to benefit, regardless of what central banks are doing.

More on share tips:

• Share tips of the week – 24 February
• Are housebuilder stocks looking cheap for dividend yields?
• Law Debenture Investment Trust offers something for all investors

The Treasury Select Committee has grilled the bosses from the UK’s “big four” largest banks over why savings rates are so low, despite Bank of England base rate sitting at 4%.

Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC were questioned by the cross-party committee on a wide range of issues, including savings rates, mortgage rates, bank branch closures, changes to financial regulations and even how homeowners in flood-risk areas are treated.

The committee of MPs said it was important to explore whether banks are boosting their profits by increasing the gap between the interest paid to savers and the interest paid by borrowers.

For example, variable-rate mortgage holders were paying over 4% interest at the end of 2022, up from 2% at the start of the year, according to Bank of England data. But the interest earned by savers with fixed-rate cash ISAs only rose from 0.5% to 1% in the same period.

The measly rise in savings rates by some of Britain’s biggest banks is at odds with the big rise in base rate, which has soared from a record low of 0.1% to 4% in just 14 months.

As the committee noted: “Customers of Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group can expect to earn between 0.5% and 0.65% interest on basic savings accounts. MPs on the committee will ask why these rates are so low, and whether banks can be doing more to advise customers on how to arrange their funds to maximise the return they receive.”

Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Committee, added that “public scrutiny of our largest financial institutions is vital” and that it was important to question the leaders of the UK’s biggest banks “on issues of fundamental importance to our constituents”.

Customer inertia over savings accounts

The committee asked the bank bosses whether they rely on customer inertia over moving to better products.

The Evening Standard reported that Matt Hammerstein, chief executive at Barclays UK, replied: “I definitely refute the idea that we rely on inertia, I don’t think that’s in any way representative of the way we design products or the way we engage customers.”

Meanwhile, Ian Stuart, chief executive of HSBC UK, said: “We actively reach out to customers. Five and a half million emails went out recently to customers… we’re actively trying to bring customers on to the good savings products that we’ve launched.”

“I would argue the vast majority of our customers do shop around.”

Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Charlie Nunn told the hearing: “When you look at instant access savings, we see between 5% to 7% of all of our balances churning – moving between our competitors – every month. So it’s one of the most actively moved products or services that we have.”

Mortgage rate volatility

The bosses were also asked about the mortgage market after rates jumped last autumn amid market volatility.

According to the Evening Standard, Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest Group, said there was “huge disruption during the mini-Budget when we saw gilts and the swap rate grow very quickly”.

She added that, while mortgage rates are coming down, the bank is helping customers look at their balance sheets “and find the right answer for them”.

The average two-year fixed-rate mortgage is now 5.79%, according to the data provider Moneyfacts. In December, the average rate was 6.01%.

Bank branch closures

There has been a string of bank branch closure announcements recently, and the MPs were keen to find out the extent to which access to cash is impacted by branch closures.

Lloyds and Halifax recently announced they would close a further 40 branches this year, while Barclays said it would shut another 15 branches. Last year, HSBC said it would shut the doors to 114 branches from April 2023.

Ian Stuart at HSBC told the committee the bank was “absolutely committed to a physical footprint in the UK”.

He added: “We think it’s important, but we have to get it scaled properly for the long term.

Stuart said 98% of HSBC’s transactions in December were digital.

Charlie Nunn at Lloyds Banking Group told MPs: “We remain very committed to our branch network.”

Alison Rose at NatWest Group said the bank was seeing “significant shifts in customer behaviour”, adding: “But we recognise we need to look after all of our customers and make sure that we support particularly vulnerable customers.”

The committee also discussed the government’s ‘Edinburgh Reforms’ to financial services, with the chief executives giving their views on plans to relax the ring-fencing regime, which separates retail from investment banking.

Meanwhile, the MPs voiced concern about how homeowners living in a flood-risk area were treated, for example in terms of insurers doing risk assessments and mortgage providers carrying out valuations.

Why haven’t savings rates kept pace with Bank rate increases?

While the Bank of England base rate acts as a guide to banks and building societies over whether they should change their savings rates, there is a stronger force at play: what their competitors are doing.

“No bank is going to hike rates dramatically above the highest rival, as they only need to nudge it slightly over their competitor’s offering to win business,” explains Laura Suter, head of personal finance at the investment platform AJ Bell.

She adds: “On top of this, banks are very keen to protect their profits, which comes at a cost to UK households. While mortgage rates have shot up, savings rates haven’t risen by nearly as much and some banks are worse than others for pocketing the difference rather than boosting savings rates. Banks make money on the difference between what they charge those borrowing money and what they hand over to savers – the bigger the difference, the bigger the profits.

“Banks are also concerned about what’s coming in the rest of the year. A recession means people losing their jobs, which in turn means more people defaulting on their mortgage or other debt, which is a cost for banks. A similar trend will be seen in the commercial market, with businesses defaulting on loans. Many banks are preparing for a wave of defaults and trying to shore up their balance sheets in anticipation.”

How to get the best savings rate

According to Suter, lots of people stashed away cash during the pandemic and many are still sitting on these cash pots, often in their current account or in old savings accounts paying very little interest.

Even if your savings rate was one of the best a year ago, it probably isn’t now, and it pays to shop around.

As Bank rate has risen over the past year, there has been something of a savings war, especially among challenger banks and building societies.

If you hunt around for a better deal you can get more than 3% for easy-access, up to 7% for regular savings and more than 4% for a one-year fixed-rate account.

Check out our round-up of the best savings accounts on the market.

Suter says savers are starting to vote with their feet. “The latest Bank of England figures show that in the final two months of 2022, savers took £7.7bn out of easy-access accounts paying little or no interest and at the same time funneled £17.3bn into fixed-rate accounts, where rates have shot up.”

Wondering what to do with old £20 notes and £50 notes? While paper notes ceased to be legal tender in 2022 and can no longer be used for everyday transactions, you can still exchange them for the same value in polymer notes.

It’s worth checking any unused bags, wallets and even your children’s money boxes for old notes that are no longer in circulation.

We look at what to do with old £20 and £50 paper notes and where to exchange them.

Are paper notes still legal tender in the UK?

No, paper notes stopped being legal tender in October 2022 when they were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with polymer notes.

A spokeswoman from the Bank of England told the BBC that “all genuine Bank of England banknotes that have been withdrawn from circulation retain their face value” and there is “no expiry on the period in which we will exchange banknotes”.

What is legal tender?

According to the Bank of England, the term ‘legal tender’ means that if you offer to fully pay off a debt to someone in a form considered to be legal tender – without any contract specifying another form of payment – you cannot be sued by anyone for failing to repay the debt.

In simple terms, it’s the officially recognised money by law that works as a means to settle a debt or meet a financial obligation. It tends to be the national currency of a country, per Investopedia.

What counts as legal tender in the UK?

If you live in England and Wales, then Royal Mint coins and Bank of England notes are considered legal tender.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, Royal Mint coins are accepted as legal tender – but not the English banknotes. Both Celtic nations have their own banknotes, issued in the two countries by authorised banks.

As for coins, it’s slightly complicated. For instance, 1p and 2p coins count as legal tender for any amount up to 20p, while 5p and 10p coins are for any amount up to £5. £1 and £2 coins are acceptable for any amount.

You will also find that most of the common payment methods, like debit or credit cards, contactless payments, or paying by cheque, are not legal tender. We look at how to pay with a cheque in a separate guide.

Where can I exchange old banknotes?

There are various places you can take old £20 and £50 paper notes. Depending on where you live, some locations may be easier to access than others.

It’s also worth noting that you won’t receive the next series of banknotes featuring British wildlife just yet – replacing historical figures like Winston Churchill and Jane Austen for the first time in over half a century.

Instead, you’ll receive current polymer banknotes featuring King Charles III or the late Queen Elizabeth II, as they remain legal tender.

At the Bank of England

One option is to take the old paper notes to the central bank.

There is currently no time limit when it comes to exchanging your old UK banknotes at the Bank of England. However, you may need to present an original photo ID and proof of address when exchanging notes.

You can do this in two ways:

• In-person: You can swap your old notes at The Bank of England Counter, on Threadneedle Street, London. The counter is open between 9:30am and 3pm on weekdays (excluding bank holidays). Do be aware – even though the last entry is at 2:45pm, you may not be served if it has reached capacity after midday.
• By post: This is done at your own risk, and you may want to insure yourself against loss before sending banknotes in the post. The Bank of England website states that they are currently taking up to 90 working days to process postal banknote exchanges – so this method is only suitable if you don’t need the cash in a hurry. You’ll need to fill in a postal exchange form and send photocopies of your proof of ID and proof of address if you’re exchanging more than £700. It’s also worth tracking your post as the bank states that it cannot confirm receipt of postal exchanges.

At the Post Office

There are 53 Post Office branches across the UK that will let you swap your old banknotes for new polymer ones – even if you don’t have a bank account.

These are the notes you can exchange at a Post Office:

• £5 note – ceased to be legal tender on 5 May 2017
• £20 note – ceased to be legal tender on 30 September 2022
• £10 note – ceased to be legal tender on 1 March 2018
• £50 note – ceased to be legal tender on 30 September 2022

You can exchange up to the value of £300 every two years. You will need to show a form of photo ID so that the Post Office can keep track of how much you exchange and that you do not exceed the limit.

Valid forms of photo ID include your passport, driving license or a national identity card.

Find all the participating Post Office branches where you can exchange old notes.

At a bank or building society

Different banks have their own rules in place covering how they will handle paper banknotes. While some are happy to exchange them for new polymer notes, others are not so understanding.

Banks and building societies happy to exchange the old notes include Halifax, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, Barclays, NatWest and Santander.

Banks that let you exchange paper notes will generally allow you to deposit the money into your account with them.

In some cases, you can still exchange the paper notes even if you don’t have an account with that particular bank, for example, with the Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money.

Can I exchange old coins for new ones?

Old £1 coins were demonetised in 2017, but you are still able to exchange them for new ones. We look at what to do with old £1 coins in a separate guide.

You can do this at your local high street bank, though it is entirely up to the bank whether they choose to accept the old tender. Retail banks which say they accept old coins include: Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, Nationwide, Santander, and Virgin Money.

You cannot exchange old coins at the Bank of England. You can exchange your old coins at the Post Office, so long as they are in good condition.

Can I sell old notes and coins online?

You may find that some of your old notes and coins sell for more than their face value if they are part of special limited runs.

The Royal Mint issues gold coins, primarily for investment purposes, which you can also buy.

If you have a collectable coin, then you might decide to list it online on e-commerce platforms like eBay or Facebook Marketplace, or by selling it to a dedicated reseller. You could find that your old coins could be worth far more than you expect – here’s how to spot valuable coins.

However, just because coins are listed as rare on online marketplaces doesn’t mean they are worth that much money. The price of rare coins is determined entirely by the market, and a sale is contingent on finding a willing buyer.

It is entirely legal for you to sell your old coins online or to a reseller, but make sure you do your due diligence to ensure you are not scammed. It is a good rule of thumb to use reputable platforms and insure your items.

If you’re planning a holiday abroad or often go on business trips, using the best cards for travel could help you make your funds go further.

There are many ways to save on holiday, whether it’s booking flights or buying travel money in advance.

But thinking about how you’ll pay for things on your trip is also important, as the wrong card could see you stung with high exchange fees.

You can avoid these charges by using a competitive travel card that comes with zero fees on foreign transactions. We have compiled a list of the best cards for travel abroad, and the host of perks they offer.

Best credit cards for travel abroad

If you are using a credit card, make sure you are in a position to pay off your bill in full at the end of each month. Otherwise, any interest charges will cancel out any benefits.

Lloyds Ultra Credit Card

This card from Lloyds comes with a low APR rate and there is no cap on how much cashback you can earn.

• 1% cashback on all card purchases in the first year, 0.25% after
• No foreign exchange fees or ATM withdrawal fees
• Representative APR and purchase rate of 12.9% (variable)

Barclaycard Rewards Card

• No fees on purchases abroad if paid in full
• 0.25% cashback on everyday spending
• No interest on cash withdrawals if paid in full
• Representative APR and purchase rate of 28.9% (variable)

NatWest Travel Reward Credit Card

• 1% cashback on eligible travel spending
• Or up to 15% cashback at select partner retailers
• Or 0.1% back on all other spending
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases abroad
• 3% fee on ATM withdrawals (minimum £3)
• Representative APR and purchase rate of 27.9% (variable)

Virgin Money Travel Credit Card

• 1% cashback on spending for the first 90 days, 0.25% cashback after that (up to £15 cashback per month)
• No foreign exchange fees overseas
• Representative APR 27.9% (variable)
• Up to 15% additional cashback with select retailers
• ATM withdrawal fees of 5% applies plus interest charge until repaid in full

Santander Edge Credit Card

• 1% cashback (max £10 per month) on all purchases
• No foreign exchange fees on purchases overseas if spent in local currency
• £4 monthly fee
• Overseas ATM withdrawals have a 3% fee (minimum £3)
• Representative APR 37.8% and purchase rate 29.9% (variable) until fully repaid

If you are applying for a credit card, always go through an eligibility checker, like the Card Match tool from our sister site Go.Compare.

We look at the best American Express credit cards and the best credit cards for airport lounge access in separate guides.

Best debit cards for travel abroad

We look at some banks that do not charge fees when using your debit card abroad. However, there may still be ATM withdrawal fees, often set by the ATM provider.

Chase Debit Card

• 1% cashback on eligible spending for the first 12 months (max £15 per month)
• Note: no cashback on overseas spending
• Fee-free spending and ATM withdrawals home and abroad

Chase also gives you access to its 2.25% (variable) easy access saver. However, the interest rate is quite low, so it’s worth checking out our best easy-access savings accounts guide for the top-paying accounts.

First Direct Debit Card

• Fee-free spending abroad
• Fee-free ATM withdrawals abroad, up to £500 per day
• £250 interest-free overdraft

You could get a £175 bank switching bonus for moving your current account to First Direct, and access a 7% regular savings account.

Starling Bank Travel Money Card

• No fees on spending abroad
• No fees on cash withdrawals abroad
• Manage in-app and online
• Maximum £300 ATM limit and six withdrawals per day while abroad

Monzo Debit Card

• Fee-free spending at home or abroad
• 0% interest on purchases over £100 or more paid over three months
• Otherwise 29% APR representative (variable) for up to 24 monthly payments

Make cash withdrawals of up to £200 outside of the EEA every 30 days for free. Anything over that incurs a 3% charge. You can also earn 2.75% AER (variable) with an Instant Access Savings Pot.

A growing number of money apps are popping up to help users manage their finances, save them cash and build their financial resilience. If you have a smartphone you probably already have a few banking apps to check your current account or credit card balance, and maybe one to keep an eye on your investments. But there’s also a range of budgeting and money-saving apps that can help you manage your finances better and even cut your household bills – something we’re all looking to fo during the cost of living crisis.

Money apps can save you time and money, with some switching your household bills to a cheaper competitor, cancelling unwanted direct debits for you, helping to file a tax return, or automatically squirrelling away some of your earnings to invest or save. We round up four of our favourite money management apps.

1. Snoop: reduce your bills

If you want personalised help cutting your bills, consider Snoop. The free money management and budgeting app can help you track your spending and lower your household bills.

By using Open Banking you can connect your bank accounts and credit cards to the app and see them all in one place. This allows the app to “snoop” through your finances and look at where you already spend your money. Snoop lets you know if there are voucher codes available for when you buy something from one of your favourite stores, or cheaper competitors for you to switch your bills to, such as broadband or car insurance.

Snoop is registered and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the City regulator.

2. Emma: help with direct debits

The average adult spends £39 a month on unused direct debits, standing orders and recurring card payments, according to NatWest - that’s £468 a year. The Emma app can help cut back on these money leaks. The most common unused subscription is a gym membership. But many of us are also paying for video-streaming services we don’t watch.

Get help sorting through your wasteful subscriptions with Emma. This free app is described as “your financial super app”, designed to help you avoid overdrafts, cancel wasteful subscriptions, track debt and save money. It also offers commission-free stock trading.

Using Open Banking you can connect your accounts, including investments, to the app and view them in one place. The app can find and cancel any subscriptions you may have signed up to but forgotten about, offers cashback at more than 500 retailers, and helps you save for different goals by creating “Emma pots”.  There are also three paid-for versions of the app that offer extra features, ranging from £4.99 to £14.99 a month in price, though you can do a 7-day trial for free. 

The Emma app is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

3. Plum: Help with saving and investing

Plum says it helps more than one million people invest, save and manage their spending. The app tracks your spending habits and gauges how much you can afford to save, then puts some money aside for you every few days. This auto-save feature also gives the option to round up your purchases to the nearest pound and save the difference (for example if you spent £2.60 on a coffee, it would save 40p).

The basic version app is free, but you can also upgrade for £1 a month, which means your savings will automatically be invested into shares and bonds via a Plum Isa (additional investment fees will apply). There are alternative plans ranging from £2.99 to £9.99 a month (note: you can do a 30-day trial for free) , offering extra features such as cashback of up to 11% when shopping with certain retailers, a Plum card and additional stocks to invest in.

Plum is registered and authorised by the FCA – although some of its products are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

4. Untied: Help filing your tax return

Get help filing your tax return with Untied. It allows users to link the app to bank accounts, credit cards and tax accounts, upload or add data manually, and then it gives an estimate of what your tax bill is likely to be.

 Untied’s “lite” version costs £24.99 a year, while the “pro” version is priced at £49.99 a year, which gives you access to the app (the lite version works only on a desktop or mobile browser), plus you can link an unlimited number of bank accounts. The pro version also includes support for capital gains and property income.

The average accountant charges £150 to £250 to file your tax return. So if you’re comfortable using an app, this could save you a decent chunk of cash. Untied is regulated by the FCA and supervised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Balance transfer credit cards can slash the costs of existing credit card debt and could save you thousands by reducing the interest you pay.

These cards allow you to transfer debt from one credit card provider to another at 0% interest — as long as you keep up with monthly payments and do not use the card for purchases.

Kalpana Fitzpatrick, MoneyWeek’s digital editor, says: “Balance transfer cards can help you clear out existing debt at no extra cost and are great for those that have existing credit card balances.

“But, keep in mind you will need a good credit score to get the top deal and there are often transfer fees to pay, so this only makes sense if you have a fairly large balance and you can pay it off in the 0% period.”

If you’re looking to reduce your credit card debt this year, banks are offering some of the longest deals of more than 30 months with 0% interest on balance transfers.

According to financial ratings expert Defaqto, 12 credit cards are offering more than 30 months with no interest in 2026, while only three such deals were available at the beginning of last year.

We round up the best 0% balance transfer credit cards on the market now.

Balance transfer credit cards vs money transfer credit cards

While both types of cards might sound similar, they serve two different purposes.

Balance transfer credit cards let you shift any outstanding balance from a current card to one with a lower or 0% interest rate, meaning that you can pay off the balance faster.

In contrast, money transfer credit cards allow you to move funds directly from a card into your bank account. This is usually done with a 0% interest rate for a set period of time to help you clear an overdraft or an outstanding bill.

The best 0% balance transfer credit cards

Here are some of the best 0% balance transfer cards on the market.

Cards with the longest offer

Source: Defaqto

TSB Platinum Balance Transfer Card

This is currently the top deal on the market, with the longest duration of up to 38 months. Here’s what you get:

• Up to 38 months, 0% interest on balance transfers, then rate jumps to 24.9% APR
• 3.49% transfer fee
• 0% on purchases for three months, then rates vary
• The minimum you can transfer is £100, up to a maximum 95% of your credit limit from UK cards
• To benefit from the balance transfer offer, it needs to be taken out within 90 days of opening the account.
• You can’t make a transfer from any other TSB cards.

Existing customers can apply on the TSB app.

Barclaycard Platinum Balance Transfer

• Up to 36 months, 0% interest on balance transfers
• 3.45% transfer fee
• 0% on purchases for three months. After the promotional period, a monthly rate of 1.87% or annual rate of 22.44% applies
• To benefit from the balance transfer offer, it needs to be taken out within 60 days of opening the account.
• The minimum you can transfer is £250 across up to five balance transfers. The maximum transfer will be 90% of your credit limit.
• You can’t make a transfer from any other Barclaycard or partner cards.
• After the 0% period, the interest rate jumps to 24.9% APR

New customers can also get £20 cashback when they transfer at least £2,500 within 60 days of opening the account. On top of that, you can get a free 12-month Apple TV subscription. This offer will end on 29 January 2026.

Tesco Bank Balance Transfer Credit Card

• 36 months, 0% interest on balance transfers, then 24.9%
• 3.45% transfer fee
• 0% interest on money transfers for nine months, with a 3.99% transfer fee
• You can transfer up to 95% of your available credit limit

You may receive a purchase rate of between 24.9% to 29.9% variable, depending on your circumstances. If you use your card for spending, you won’t be charged any interest, provided you pay off the balances that aren’t on a 0% rate in full each month.

You can pay with your card in or outside of Tesco and collect Clubcard points. You get five points for every £4 spent using a Clubcard Credit Card at Tesco, one point for every £4 spent, one point per litre of Tesco Fuel, and one point for every £8 spent.

Virgin Money Balance Transfer Credit Card

• Up to 35 months, 0% interest on balance transfers, then 27.9%
• To benefit from the balance transfer offer, it needs to be taken out within 60 days of opening the account.
• 0% interest on purchases for three months, then 27.9% variable
• Transfer up to 95% of your credit limit
• 2.95% transfer fee
• You can't make a transfer from another Virgin Money credit card

Virgin’s balance transfer credit card comes with a relatively high transfer period and a lower transfer fee compared to other providers.

HSBC Balance Transfer Credit Card

• Up to 35 months, 0% interest on balance transfers, then rate jumps to 24.9%
• To benefit from the balance transfer offer, it needs to be taken out within 60 days of opening the account.
• 3.19% transfer fee (minimum transfer of £5)
• 0% on purchases for three months, then rate jumps to 24.9%
• You won’t be eligible if you hold an HSBC Basic Bank Account.

Cards with no or low transfer fee

There are options available for customers who want a 0% balance transfer card with no transfer fee. We round up the options.

Barclaycard No Fee Platinum Balance Transfer Credit Card

• No fee to transfer a balance for up to 14 months
• 0% interest on balance transfers
• 0% interest on purchases for three months
• After the 0% period, the interest rate jumps to 24.9% APR for both balance transfers and purchases
• No monthly account fee
• To benefit from the offer, you must transfer within 60 days of opening your account.

Natwest Balance Transfer Credit Card

• Up to 12 months, 0% interest on balance transfers
• Balance transfers must be made within three months of opening the account
• No fee to transfer
• 0% interest on purchases for three months
• Minimum transfer of at least £100
• Can transfer up to 95% of your credit limit
• After the 0% period, the rate changes to 24.9% for both balance transfers and purchases

Santander Everyday No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card

• Up to 12 months, 0% interest on balance transfers
• No fee to transfer a balance for the first 12 months
• No monthly account fee
• 0% interest on purchases for three months
• After the 0% period, the interest rate jumps to 24.9% APR for both balance transfers and purchases

You shouldn’t already have another Everyday credit card, and you can’t transfer balances from other Santander or Cahoot credit cards.

Santander All in One Credit Card

• 15 months, 0% interest on balance transfers and purchases
• No transfer fee
• £3 monthly charge to hold the account
• No foreign exchange fees on overseas purchases
• 0.5% cashback on all purchases (up to £10 a month)
• After the 0% period, the rate jumps to 29.8% APR for balance transfers and 23.9% for purchases

You won’t be able to transfer any balances from other Santander or Cahoot credit cards, loans or current accounts.

Tesco Bank Low Fee Balance Transfer Credit Card

• 0.75% to transfer a balance for up to 15 months
• 0% interest on balance transfers for 15 months
• 0% interest on purchases for three months
• After the 0% period, the interest rate jumps to 24.9% APR for both balance transfers and purchases
• 0% interest on money transfers for nine months, with a 3.99% transfer fee
• To benefit from the offer, you must transfer within 90 days of opening your account.
• Collect Clubcard points on spending

If your credit score isn't perfect, you might be offered less time to pay off the balance.

It’s also important that you only use the card to pay off the existing credit card debt and do not use it to spend — otherwise, you could face hefty interest charges. Failing to pay the minimum balance each month could mean you incur fines and damage your credit rating.

It’s hard to believe now, but UK banks’ share prices had a strong start to the year, up between 15% and 25% until mid-February. They reported results for the financial year ending December 2021 at the end of last month, with no obvious problems. We saw profits rebound and outlook statements suggest improving revenue and further capital returns to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and NatWest’s, HSBC’s and Lloyds’ share prices fell by more than 20% from their 2022 highs. Barclays has been hit even harder, down 30%. They have since rallied somewhat, but still remain down by between 12% (HSBC) and 22% (Barclays).

Direct exposure to Russia plays little part in this. UK banks have $3bn exposure to the Russian financial system, according to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). While $3bn may sound like a lot of money, Austria (mainly Raiffeisen) has six times more exposure at $18bn. French (mainly Societe Generale) and Italian banks (Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo) have eight times more exposure at $25bn each. Societe Generale has said that it would be able to withstand the extreme scenario of having its Russian bank confiscated by the authorities, but so far banks have admitted losses that are in the tens of millions, not tens of billions.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, lenders are in much better shape to absorb losses, mainly because regulators demanded that they rebuild their capital ratios and fund with more equity. Excluding NatWest – which has sold businesses and shrunk total assets by a trillion dollars – the sector has now increased tangible equity funding by around $90bn in the last ten years. In total, UK banks have $420bn of equity to absorb losses. So while $3bn UK bank direct exposure to Russia might sound like a lot of money, it really isn’t compared with the equity on their balance sheets, and is much less than that of European competitors.

Reassuring results

Results for the 2021 financial year were reassuring. Bank profits have been in long-term decline, but recovered in 2021. This was driven by lower bad debts compared with 2020, because banks took large provisions at the start of the pandemic and found that bad debts weren’t as high as the worst-case scenario. Hence statutory profit before tax doubled at HSBC and trebled at Barclays. The two banks the government rescued in 2008 fared even better, with Lloyds increasing profit before tax sixfold and NatWest recovering from a loss in 2020 to report a £4bn profit.

All UK banks have profitability (as measured by return on tangible equity – ROTE) targets of 10% or above and the outlook statements (which were written before the Russian invasion) sounded more confident that these can be achieved. For instance, HSBC said that it was likely to achieve at least 10% ROTE in the 2023 financial year, a year earlier than it had previously expected. Barclays and Lloyds already exceed their targets, reporting 13.4% and 13.8% ROTE respectively. This was helped by each bank’s revenue performance, but also a £0.7bn impairment release for Barclays and a £1.7bn release for Lloyds.

NatWest announced a £750m buyback; Barclays £1bn and Lloyds £2bn. The Asian-focused banks (HSBC and Standard Chartered), which are reporting lower returns and were trading on lower price to tangible book multiples, announced $750m and $1bn buybacks respectively. However, those buyback announcements have done little to support share prices. Since the obvious exposures to Russia’s economy are manageable, it’s the secondary and tertiary effects that share prices are responding to, and that’s what we should be thinking about as well.

Central banks have been slow to tighten

Merryn interviewed Andy Haldane, previously the Bank of England’s chief economist, for the MoneyWeek podcast in July last year. Haldane worried that other central bankers were too relaxed about the risk of inflation and that its effects might not be transitory. In June last year he was the only member of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) to vote to raise interest rates. He suggested that inflation could exceed the Bank’s 2% target for longer than most people expected, which would result in central bankers’ credibility being questioned.

Although central banks were slow off the mark in tightening policy, by the start of this year the strength of the post-pandemic economic recovery meant that most analysts were expecting to see steadily rising interest rates. You may be wondering: if interest rate rises have been expected, why the panic now?

Ultra-low interest rates are no good for banks, because banks make money from lending out their deposit funding. In normal times, customers’ deposits (which are liabilities on banks’ balance sheets) represent a cheap and stable source of funding. However, when interest rates are below 1%, banks don’t derive any benefit from this deposit funding, because there’s so much other liquidity freely available. As interest rates rise, banks will be slow to pass on the benefit to savings customers. Instead, net interest margins will widen (which is better for shareholders than it is for customers). As long as central banks are responding to a strong economy, rising interest rates are good news.

That was the bull case. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the oil price rising to over $120 per barrel has changed the outlook.

The threat of stagflation

HSBC warned in its annual report that “further increases in energy prices – for instance, as a result of escalation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis – could keep inflation high and force central banks to tighten monetary policies faster than currently envisaged”. During the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, oil peaked at almost $150 per barrel – trebling from the $50 per barrel it traded at in January 2007. At the time a wiser, older broker told me: “Oil has never trebled in value and not caused a recession”. It wasn’t different that time and it probably won’t be different this time.

The problem is that we may see consumers’ disposable incomes being squeezed by higher commodity prices, rising inflation and rising unemployment all at the same time. That is what happened in the 1970s and it’s known as “stagflation” (stagnation + inflation). History shows that while quantitative easing might have helped stimulate growth from 2008 onwards, central banks can’t print their way out of a commodity shock. Longer term, rising inflation combined with rising unemployment is unambiguously negative for banks’ share prices. Any benefit from higher interest rates would be wiped out by bad debts.

These are the risks that share prices are reflecting. And if we see stagflation, investors should avoid the sector altogether. But if these fears are overstated, there could be some value in banks at this point.

The case for NatWest – Britain’s worst bank

A common-sense investment strategy is to pick a sector with favourable long-term prospects and buy a company from that sector that has favourable economics. An example might be Halma or Spirax Sarco in the engineering sector.

When it comes to UK banks, common sense works less well. The “quality” bank with the best long-term record is HSBC, whose share price has halved in value in the last 20 years. It’s not much good to point out that in relative terms HSBC has done better than the competition: Lloyds and NatWest were part-nationalised and shareholders diluted by the government in 2008. Barclays has fared little better, with the shares down by 70% compared with 20 years ago. In short, banks have not been “buy and hold” investments. With that in mind, I would suggest a different, counter-intuitive approach: wait until the tide is on the turn and then buy the lowest-quality bank, which is NatWest.

Expectations are low: NatWest lost money for nine consecutive years following the financial crisis. However, NatWest has essentially been three businesses i) a non-core shrinking “bad bank”; ii) good businesses that it was forced to sell as a result of receiving state aid (eg, Direct Line Insurance); and iii) a profitable core franchise. The years since the financial crisis have been dominated by the first two factors, but by their nature they have declined in importance and the core franchise should become more important.

NatWest’s annual report shows the bank should benefit by almost £1bn from a one percentage-point parallel shift in the sterling yield curve (that means short-term rates rise as the Bank of England raises the base rate, but the ten-year bond yield – which central banks don’t control – goes up by the same amount). That’s an automatic benefit equal to 25% of last year’s profit before tax of £4bn. As long as the yield curve remains upward sloping – meaning short-term rates (eg, 2%) remain lower than longer-term bond yields (eg, 4%) – some of that benefit is sustainable in future years.

Aside from the macro-economic background, there are still company-specific concerns. For instance, last year NatWest paid £466m of “conduct costs” for the financial year 2021, including £265m for money laundering for a Bradford jeweller that deposited £260m in cash, some in bin bags with a “musty smell”. Many of these problems were the result of cultural failings – and as the bank shrinks, it should become easier to avoid these hangovers from the past. Note also that the UK government still owns 52% (down from 97% in 2008), but not all of these shares are being placed on the market. Instead, NatWest is buying back from the government at the market price.

NatWest is trading on 0.5 times revenue and 0.6 times tangible book value. The forecast price/earnings ratio is less than six times forecast 2023 earnings, according to SharePad. That suggests investors believe it will deliver returns well below management’s target of 10% ROTE. But having shrunk its balance sheet by over £700bn in the last decade, the bank has been de-risked. The share price currently looks to be anticipating a very difficult stagflationary environment. The Ukraine war and sanctions may drive that scenario – but if we see commodity prices fall, that would be the signal the tide has turned, and would be the time to buy.

Last year HSBC took “billions of dollars” in loan losses, say Stephen Morris and Tabby Kinder in the Financial Times. Now it has announced an “almost fivefold rise in second-quarter earnings as the global economic outlook brightened”. Pre-tax profits “surged” from $1.1bn last year to $5.1bn in 2021, while the group “cancelled a further $300m of credit provisions”.

HSBC’s decision to reinstate its dividend is “another good sign” for shareholders, says Jennifer Hughes on Breakingviews. However, the fact that it is handing back “a mere seven cents a share for now”, suggests that HSBC’s management think that things are “only slowly moving in the right direction”. The payout, worth far less than half the group’s earnings, is pretty “meh” when set against UK rivals Barclays and NatWest. And while HSBC is saying that it will now “consider” buybacks, shareholders “shouldn’t hold their breath”. Don’t expect any major share-price rises either, says Emma Powell in The Times. Part of the problemis HSBC’s focus on Asia. In theory, it implies “arguably the greatest growth potential of any of the big five banks listed on the LSE”, since the region benefits from “an ascendant middle class and rising demand for wealth-management services”.

But the share price remains depressed by “geopolitical concerns”, especially the “fragile relations” between the West and China and Hong Kong, which account for half of its profits. HSBC is still feeling “intense heat” over its support of the national-security law that China imposed on Hong Kong.

As part of his pledge to turn “generation rent into generation buy”, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a 95% mortgage guarantee in the March budget, due to launch in April. The scheme, designed to encourage lenders to start offering 95% mortgages again after almost every single one was withdrawn due to the pandemic, will see the government partially compensate lenders if homeowners fail to pay their mortgage.

According to Which?, using data from MoneyFacts, the number of 95% mortgages available to buyers fell from 391 at the start of 2020 to just three by the end as lenders sought to protect themselves as the pandemic saw many people’s incomes fall.

The new scheme is available on new-build and existing properties up to £600,000 and is open to first-time buyers and home movers alike, but second homes and buy-to-let properties are not allowed. are eligible. Yorkshire Building Society beat the government to it, announcing the relaunch of 95% mortgages through their mortgage arm, Accord Mortgages, in mid March. Major banks including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander have all committed to launching deals in April under the scheme, too.

Yorkshire Building Society’s loan comes with an interest rate of 3.99% and a £995 fee. It’s not available for flats or new-build houses, or for people who are currently furloughed. Chances are that, as the government’s scheme launches, more lenders will be releasing different loans, so it’s worth looking into which lender offers the rates that suit you the most. It’s also worth noting that the better rates will be available to those with more substantial deposits. But, if 95% mortgages are still of interest to you, or you’re just curious, here’s a look at what’s on offer now.

According to broker Habito, who launched 40 year fixed rate mortgages earlier this month, if you were buying a property priced at £100,000 with a mortgage of £95,000, (so a loan to value (LTV) of 95%) repaying with a fixed rate over 25 years you’d pay:

• £472 a month with an initial rate of 3.44% with The Cambridge Building Society
• £490 a month with an initial rate of 3.79% with Nationwide
• £500 a month with an initial rate of 3.99% with Furness Building Society
• £524 a month with an initial rate of 4.44% with the Teachers Building Society
• £559 a month with an initial rate of 5.08% with Aldermore

The same search on comparethemarket also brings up the Loughborough Building Society’s mortgage, with a monthly payment of £493.61 and an initial rate of 3.85%.

In comparison, with a 20% deposit, monthly repayments for Nationwide – which offers the best rate according to Habito – would cost you £358, with an initial rate of 2.49%.

There are also far more lenders to choose from with higher deposits, but as we said more lenders should be coming out with 95% mortgages as the government scheme kicks in this month, and no doubt there will be some competition among them as to who can offer the lower rates.

The lowest rate is currently 3.44% with the Cambridge Building Society, but it should be pointed out that the cheapest 95% mortgage at the start of March 2020 was priced at 2.9%. So if a 95% mortgage is on the cards, it might be worth waiting for a little bit longer for lenders to regain confidence and lower their rates.

NatWest and Santander are both offering big cash bribes to encourage people to switch to their current accounts. You could get £150 if you move your day-to-day banking to NatWest’s free Select account or its £2 a month Reward account. Santander is offering £140 if you use the current-account switching service (CASS) to move to one of its current accounts.

The money is a great incentive, but you need to consider more than just the switching bonus when choosing a current account. There’s no point getting £150 if you then run up an overdraft that costs you far more. Equally, check you can meet the criteria to get the bonus before you move.

NatWest’s best current account deals

NatWest’s Select account offers no additional rewards, but it is a free bank account. However, the more tempting option is the bank’s Reward account, which pays you £4 a month as long as you have two direct debits going out of your account, plus an additional £1 a month if you log on to internet banking. You can also earn 1% cashback when you spend with certain retail partners, including Caffe Nero. However, the account has a £2 monthly fee and you’ll pay interest at an effective annual rate (EAR) of 39.49% if you use the overdraft facility.

The surprising thing with NatWest’s switching bonus is that it is available to existing as well as to new customers. If you already bank with NatWest then you can earn the £150 by moving to either a Reward Silver, Reward Platinum or Reward Black account. These are packaged bank accounts costing from £10 to £31 a month depending on the products you want included. Options range from travel insurance to a concierge service.

To qualify for NatWest’s switching bonus you must use the CASS, close your existing account and transfer your main current account to NatWest by 7 April. You must also deposit at least £1,250 into the account and log into online or mobile banking by 12 May. You can’t have received another switching bonus from NatWest since October 2017. If you meet the criteria, you’ll get your £150 by 9 June.

Get cashback on your bills

Santander is offering the switching bonus on any of its current accounts as long as you use the current-account switching service. Its 123 and 123Lite accounts are already popular, so adding a £140 incentive should encourage many people to move.

The accounts pay 3% cashback on water bills, 2% cashback on energy bills and 1% on council tax, phone, broadband and paid-for TV packages. With energy bills set to soar this year earning a bit back via your current account could prove very appealing. In order to get the cashback, you have to pay in at least £500 a month, have two active direct debits and log into online or mobile banking at least once every three months.

The difference between the 123 and 123Lite accounts is you also get 0.3% interest paid on balances up to £20,000 with the former, but it costs £4 a month. The 123Lite account pays no interest but costs less at £2 a month. If you are likely to use your overdraft, be aware that interest is charged at 39.94% on both accounts.

Santander will pay you a £140 switching bonus if you use the current-account switching service to move to one of their accounts, deposit at least £1,000 and log into online or mobile banking. Do all that and the money will be in your account within 30 days. If you’ve had a switching bonus from Santander before you won’t be eligible for this deal.

Two options for your overdraft

If you have a large overdraft then you could save more than you’d gain from these switching bonuses by moving to a current account with an interest-free borrowing facility. Nationwide’s FlexDirect account comes with a 0% overdraft of up to £2,750 for the first 12 months. That could save you around £140 over a year if you are £1,000 in the red with a bank charging 40%, such as the NatWest and Santander accounts.

Alternatively, if you only need a small overdraft then First Direct’s 1st account could be a good option. It has a £250 interest-free overdraft and is offering a £150 switching bonus to new customers.

The Bank of England is working out the details of a deal that will allow the retail banks to start giving money to their shareholders again. So long as net lending continues to grow, and capital ratios remain robust, they will be allowed to restore their dividends. That is a significant reversal. At the height of the Covid-19 crisis in the spring, the Prudential Regulation Authority wrote to the main banks asking them to cancel any remaining payouts for 2019 and for the whole of 2020. In recent weeks both Barclays boss Jes Staley and Santander’s Ana Botin have called for an end to the ban in public, and now it looks as if, subject to a few conditions, that will be allowed. HSBC said this week that it was likely to start paying a dividend again soon.

A monstrous imposition

Cancelling the dividends took a heavy toll on the share prices of all the main banks this year. From 130p before the crisis, Barclays slumped below 100p before recovering slightly. Lloyds went from 63p at the start of the year to below 25p. NatWest (formerly RBS) dropped from 240p to below 100p, and HSBC from close on 600p in January to below 300p. That is a terrible performance. But then what could be expected? If a company is not allowed to pay out dividends it is hard to see any point in owning the shares – and we can hardly blame investors for selling out. It would help both the banks and the wider economy to restore those dividends as quickly as possible. Here’s why.

First, it is not the job of the Bank of England or its supervisory arm to control payouts to shareholders. The ban should never have been imposed in the first place. Sure, if the banks had been behaving recklessly and heading towards collapse, then it would have been reasonable to stop that. But that wasn’t happening. The main banks were chugging along fine, and making profits, much as usual. In its third-quarter results published this week, HSBC made more than £3bn in profits. If it wants to pay some of that out to its shareholders, there isn’t any reason why it shouldn’t. Likewise, Barclays made profits of more than £600m in the third quarter. Why shouldn’t shareholders get a slice? The ban on dividends was in truth more a PR stunt designed to pander to public opinion than it was anything to do with “prudential regulation”. It is not up to regulators to decide how a business is run or what it chooses to do with the money it makes. That is up to its owners and managers.

It’s not just the banks that are hurting

The second point is that the policy weakened all the retail banks. A bank with a plunging share price and unhappy, disgruntled shareholders looking for an exit, is not going to be a very happy place. The CEO will be under pressure, confidence will be damaged and staff will be worried about their jobs. A bank in those circumstances is not going to lend more, or launch new products, or offer help to customers in trouble. To get out of a recession you need healthy, buoyant banks – and you don’t create those by wrecking their share prices.

Finally, the dividend ban weakened the whole stockmarket as well. Retail banking is a major component of the FTSE 100 index. The high street banks are among its biggest companies. Hammer their share prices with dividend controls and it is not very surprising that the entire index quickly found itself under pressure. UK equities have performed far worse than most major rivals, and that is a big part of the explanation. Just as significantly, the banks represent a major part of the total dividends paid out by the FTSE 100. Of the ten FTSE companies paying out the biggest total dividends in 2019, two were retail banks: HSBC, with a total payout of more than £8bn; and Lloyds, with a payout of more than £2bn. Strip those out of the total, and the dividend yield on the whole index takes a significant hit. Investors then have less money to spend, and less to re-invest, and that hurts the whole economy. The sooner dividends are restored, preferably without any conditions attached, the better for everyone.

There's no point sticking with a bank that offers a bad deal. Make sure you move when rates are cut.

Lloyds is cutting the interest rate on its Club Lloyds and Bank of Scotland Vantage accounts from 2% to 1.5% in July, while also hiking the monthly fees on all packaged bank accounts offered by Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland by £2 a month. For loyal Lloyds customers, this could be a good time to see if you can do better with another bank.

If you tend to keep a reasonable amount of money in your current account, then make sure you are being rewarded with a decent interest rate. The best you can get is 5% on balances of up to £2,500 with Nationwide's FlexDirect account. You need to pay in at least £1,000 a month. Be aware that the rate drops to 1% after 12 months, so you'll need to shop around again then.

Alternatively, Tesco Bank pays 3% on up to £3,000 on its current account. To get that rate, you need to pay in at least £750 a month and have at least three direct debits going out of the account every month. Tesco allows two accounts per person, so a couple could secure a 3% interest rate on up to £12,000.

If you don't keep a lot of money in your current account, then you may be better off banking a switching bonus instead of going for the top interest rates. M&S Bank is offering a £125 gift card to new switchers to its current account. There is no minimum monthly deposit, but you must have at least two direct debits set up. The account pays no interest. However, if you deposit at least £1,000 a month, then you'll get an extra £5 a month added to your gift card for 12 months.

If you'd rather have the cash, Halifax is offering a £75 switching bonus if you move to its Halifax Reward account. On top of that bonus, you'll get a £3 a month reward if you pay in £750 a month, don't go into your overdraft and pay out at least two direct debits. Just note that you won't get the bonus if you've received a switching incentive from Halifax since January 2012.

Anyone looking for a new current account to pay their household bills from should take a look at Santander and NatWest. Both banks have current accounts that give cashbacks on bill payments. Santander's 123 Lite account gives between 1% and 3% cashback on direct debits to pay bills. The 3% rate is for phone, broadband, mobile and TV bills, with 2% paid on gas, electricity and Santander insurance, and 1% on water, council tax and Santander mortgage payments.

You need to pay at least £500 a month into the account and have at least two direct debits set up to get the cashback. There is also a £1 monthly fee. NatWest's Rewards Account has a £2 a month fee, but pays a flat 2% cashback on the same range of bills as Santander. However, you have to pay at least £1,500 a month into this account.

Finally, if you want a current account that comes with added benefits, then Nationwide's FlexPlus account is the best package by far. It offers worldwide family travel insurance up to the age of 74, family smartphone insurance, and UK and Europe breakdown cover. The account costs £13 a month, but the travel insurance alone could cost more than that if you got a separate policy.

The breakdown cover is for the account holder driving any car and the mobile insurance covers loss, theft, damage and breakdown of all phones owned by you, your partner or dependent children at the same address, provided the phone isn't worth more than £1,000. On top of all that, the account pays 3% a year on up to £2,500 for 12 months.

Pocket money TSB fiasco drags on

TSB customers were still struggling to access their accounts on Wednesday, despite assurances from the bank's chief executive that its internet and mobile-banking services were up and running, says Angela Monaghan in The Guardian. TSB had warned customers to expect disruption over the weekend while it switched from a platform rented from its former owner Lloyds to its own platform, but the problems continued well into this week.

If you've been affected by these over the past few days you can claim compensation for any losses incurred, including any charges for late payment, and knock-on costs such as credit-card interest, says The Daily Telegraph. There is also scope to claim for "non-financial harm", such as the stress caused. You can ask the bank to have your credit file corrected if not being able to access your account leads to problems with your credit score.

Car-insurance prices have fallen for the first time in three years, but most drivers are not being offered cheaper rates when their insurance comes up for renewal, says Annabelle Williams in The Times. Insurance premiums rose when the government changed the way compensation payments were calculated, meaning insurance firms faced bigger payouts but a review of this change should mean payouts will fall. Make sure you shop around when it's time to renew your policy never accept a renewal without checking it's competitive.

Online estate agents are cheaper than traditional firms, but they accounted for just 6% of sales last year, up from 5% in 2016. One reason for the slow take-up is that online agents tend to ask for payment up front, so sellers feel there is less incentive for the agents to chase a deal once they have handed over the money, says Ali Hussain in The Sunday Times.

Online agents charge a flat fee, unlike high- street agents who typically charge around 1.5% of the sale price. The huge cost savings "can be tempting and the lack of a presence on the high street is not necessarily a problem given that most people's property searches begin online" although some argue that a traditional agent can play a valuable role in ensuring a sale gets from offer to completion.

Are entrepreneurs born or are they made? Sahar Hashemi, 47, thinks they must be made: she "never wanted to be an entrepreneur". However, shortly after qualifying as a lawyer in 1994 she realised that, in her own words, "I wasn't very good at the law". With expected job offers failing to materialise, she went to visit her brother, Bobby, in New York. While she was there she fell in love with the low-fat coffee widely sold there what we all now know as a "skinny latte". Yet when she returned to the UK, she found to her disappointment that they were hard to track down.

So she took matters into her own hands. She and Bobby set up their own chain of coffee bars, called Coffee Republic. They raised the money via a bank loan from NatWest, underwritten by the Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme. Along with money from an angel investor, this funded Coffee Republic's first site, which opened in 1995. Hashemi admits now that at first she was "clueless" about the complexities of running a firm in the catering industry she was forced to learn everything from scratch.

Her first major challenge was finding the right people to staff her coffee shops. Another problem was raising brand awareness among a mainly tea-drinking public. So she focused on "cheap but effective" marketing deals, such as "two for one" offers and loyalty cards. This helped Coffee Republic build an audience quickly. She remembers with pride walking on the street one day and seeing someone drinking from a Coffee Republic branded paper cup.

By 1998 Coffee Republic had grown to seven stores. Hashemi wanted to raise more funds for expansion, and decided that the time was right to list the firm on the Alternative Investment Market. This enabled the firm to keep growing, and by 2000 it had moved to the main market of the London Stock Exchange. A year later it had 110 stores across the UK. It was then that Hashemi made the decision to sell up and hand over to professional managers. It made her a very wealthy woman.

However, she says that she regrets not staying involved. The firm itself was hit badly by the financial crisis and went bust in 2009.Since then, Hashemi has written several books, including the hit guide to entrepreneurship, Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table. She also made a return to entrepreneurship with a new company called Skinny Candy. This one came about when she decided to give up sugar to improve her health and found that the only remaining sweets she could still enjoy were those targeted at diabetics. This led her to produce sugar-free sweets for the mass market. After setting up the business in 2005, she successfully sold it just two years later.

Hashemi currently makes a living advising established firms on how to be more entrepreneurial and innovative. She's adamant that the traditional model of experienced managers replacing a firm's founder after it reaches a certain size is outdated. However, this cuts both ways those looking to set up a company have to be disciplined and detail-orientated from the start. Indeed, her key tip for aspiring entrepreneurs is that "you have to focus on the details, because the detail is the thing that the customer sees".