2025
9
UK Current Accounts Market Report 2025
2025-10-20T10:04:25+00:00
REP448A6D59_3FBB_4832_8096_4B3C97BE1519
2995
187782
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Report
en_GB
Overall satisfaction with main current account providers remains positive, with 88% being 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their respective provider. However, dissatisfaction is highest among…
UK
Banking and Payments
simple

UK Current Accounts Market Report 2025

"Most consumers are satisfied with their current account. However, ongoing financial pressures are prompting many to seek accounts offering better value or rewards."

Lewis Cone, Associate Director - Financial Services

UK Current Accounts Market – Trends and Insights

  • Overall satisfaction with main current account providers remains positive, with 88% being ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their respective provider. However, dissatisfaction is highest among more tangible factors, such as rewards and interest rates.
  • Many rewards offered by providers are veered towards younger lifestyles and so there remains scope to tailor rewards that are better suited to older customers.
  • Older consumers are more likely to have held their main current account with the same provider for a long time. This built-up loyalty and trust can make it difficult for providers to appeal to this group.
  • Having access to a branch is a far more important issue for older account holders, as they have built-up financial experience via in-person banking. Any providers that continue to offer branch facilities, such as Nationwide, will hold a competitive edge with these customers.
  • Only half of those who describe their finances as struggling think their current account provider will help them if they got into financial difficulty. Providers need to improve communications and how they signpost support services to those who require them, while displaying compassion and understanding to those in a financially, and emotionally, delicate situation.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • The impact of the economic climate and regulation on current accounts
  • Market size and performance, including a five year market forecast
  • Market share of the leading current account providers
  • Current account ownership and the types of accounts held
  • Current account owners’ overall satisfaction with providers, including level of satisfaction with customer service and the interest raid paid on account balances
  • Current account switching intentions and incentives, including the level of interest in non-cash rewards and access to physical branches and investment tools
  • Current account owners’ trust in providers supporting them if they entered into financial difficulty and interest in opening a current account with a more ethical provider

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • Opportunities for the current accounts market
    • Round-the-clock customer service key for under 35s
    • Increase fee-paying accounts’ flexibility to boost value perceptions and suitability
    • Improve communications around support services, while highlighting benefits of data sharing
    • Market dynamics and outlook
    • Slight decline in the number of current accounts in 2025
    • Graph 1: estimated number of current accounts, 2021-25
    • Barclays leads both main and multiple current account markets
    • Graph 2: main current account market share, 2025*
    • Graph 3: multiple current account market share, 2025**
    • Overdraft rates stabilise, but remain high
    • Graph 4: interest rates on selected products, 2021-25
    • Switching activity via CASS shows gradual improvement in 2025
    • Graph 5: number of switches per month using the CASS, 2023-25
    • FCA sets out steps to improve access to bank accounts
    • What consumers want and why
    • Almost all Brits have a current account
    • Graph 6: current account ownership, 2024 and 2025
    • Standard accounts are most popular with consumers
    • Graph 7: types of current account held, 2025
    • App and site experience provide highest satisfaction
    • Graph 8: satisfaction with main current account provider – net, by factor, 2025
    • Financial incentives are key switching motivators
    • Graph 9: important factors when considering switching main current account provider, 2025
    • Current account suitability is high, but most do not check for better deals
    • Graph 10: attitudes towards current accounts, 2025
    • Advertising and marketing
    • Current account advertising spend surges in 2024/25
    • Graph 11: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising on current accounts, 2020/21-24/25
    • Pay.UK launches ‘avoid unwanted surprises’ campaign to ease switching concerns
    • Competitive strategies and launch activities
    • Providers target the current account switching process and incentives
  2. MARKET DYNAMICS

    • Market size
    • Slight decline in the number of current accounts in 2025…
    • Graph 12: estimated number of current accounts, 2021-25
    • …while banks offer rewards to switch accounts
    • Market share
    • Almost three-quarters have an account with the ‘big four’
    • Long-established relationships and legacies drive use of largest banking brands
    • Lloyds Banking Group is home to the most current accounts on a group basis
    • Graph 13: current account ownership, by banking group, 2025
    • Barclays leads both main and multiple current account markets
    • Graph 14: main current account market share, 2025*
    • Graph 15: multiple current account market share, 2025**
    • Multiple account owners use challenger and digital banks, but the big 4 remain on top
    • Graph 16: type of current account provider used, by number of current accounts held, 2025
    • Market drivers
    • Sticky inflation maintains appeal of switching accounts
    • Overdraft rates stabilise, but remain high
    • Graph 17: interest rates on selected products, 2021-25
    • Consumer confidence is improving, but trade tariff pressures loom
    • Graph 18: financial confidence index, 2020-25
    • Bank branch number continues to fall, despite persistent consumer need
    • Graph 19: bank and building society numbers, 2019-24
    • Switching activity via CASS shows gradual improvement in 2025
    • Graph 20: number of switches per month using the CASS, 2023-25
    • Increased awareness of CASS drives switching activity
    • Regulation and legislation
    • FCA sets out steps to improve access to bank accounts
    • Government proposes extending the notice period for bank account closures
  3. WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY

    • Current account ownership
    • Almost all Brits have a current account
    • Graph 21: current account ownership, 2024 and 2025
    • Multiple account ownership is highest among under 35s
    • Graph 22: current account ownership – net, by age, 2025
    • Highest earners seek added value from holding multiple bank accounts
    • Graph 23: current account ownership – net, by household income, 2025
    • Own-named accounts remain most common…
    • Graph 24: joint current account ownership, 2024 and 2025
    • …but homeowners are most likely to have a joint account alongside their own
    • Types of current account
    • Standard accounts are most popular with consumers
    • Educate consumers on the potential money-saving aspects of fee-paying accounts
    • Increase fee-paying accounts’ flexibility to boost value perceptions and suitability
    • Graph 25: type of current account owned – net, by age, 2025
    • Current account satisfaction
    • Most current account customers are satisfied with their main provider
    • App and site experience provide highest satisfaction
    • Graph 26: satisfaction with main current account provider – net, by factor, 2025
    • Tailor rewards to better suit older customers’ lifestyles
    • Ongoing branch closures could lead to a satisfaction tipping point
    • Graph 27: satisfaction with access to physical banking facilities, by age, 2025
    • Key driver analysis of current account satisfaction
    • Rewards, rates, branches and overdrafts are all areas for improvement
    • Promote customer service and app experience, but improve value-added benefits
    • Current account switching factors
    • Financial incentives are key switching motivators
    • Graph 28: important factors when considering switching main current account provider, 2025
    • Promote branch availability to appeal to older customers
    • Graph 29: access to a physical branch is an important switching factor, by age, 2025
    • Round-the-clock customer service key for under 35s
    • Adding investment tools to accounts will meet younger customer demand
    • Investing tools would most strongly convince younger customers to switch
    • Promote zero-fee overseas spending during peak holiday seasons
    • Attitudes towards current accounts
    • Current account suitability is high, but most do not check for better deals
    • Graph 30: attitudes towards current accounts, 2025
    • Improve communications around support services, while highlighting benefits of data sharing
    • Boost overdraft facilities in fee-paying accounts to attract younger customers
    • Graph 31: I think fee-paying accounts offer good value and I expect to use an overdraft more in the next year, by age, 2025
    • Ethical current accounts strongly appeal to Gen Z city dwellers
    • Promote green/sustainability credentials to environmentally-conscious younger customers
  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS

    • Competitive strategies
    • Virgin Money partners with Mastercard to launch innovative open banking solution
    • Zempler Bank simplifies switching for the most financially vulnerable
    • Launch activity and innovation
    • Paragon looks to Spring consumers into account interest-earning action
    • Zopa Bank enters the current account market with Biscuit
    • New current account launches target opportunities
    • Advertising and marketing activity
    • Current account advertising spend surges in 2024/25
    • Graph 32: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising on current accounts, 2020/21-2024/25
    • Brands focus on social and digital channel advertising
    • Graph 33: share of total atl, online display and direct mail advertising on current accounts, by media type, 2024/25
    • Pay.UK launches ‘avoid unwanted surprises’ campaign to ease switching concerns
    • Zopa Bank urges consumers to grab a Biscuit in its multichannel campaign
    • LHV Bank targets Reckless Savers for its new current account offering
  5. APPENDIX

    • Supplementary data
    • Market size methodology
    • Market size methodology data
    • Top 10 current account advertisers by spend
    • Total current account advertising spend by media type
    • Report scope and definitions
    • Market definition
    • Market share definitions
    • Abbreviations and terms
    • Methodology
    • Consumer research methodology
    • CHAID analysis – methodology data
    • CHAID analysis – methodology data table
    • Key driver analysis – methodology
    • Key driver analysis – methodology data
    • Nielsen Ad Intel coverage

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