Barclays offers £175 cash to open a new current account

Barclays has become the latest bank to dangle a carrot to its customers in a bid to attract new business.

It offers a £175 switching bonus to customers who switch to one of its current accounts.

However, to be eligible they will need to sign up to a rewards plan which costs £5 per month.

The other option is to have an income of £75,000 in the account, or have a total balance of at least £100,000 in savings or investments at Barclays.

How to get Barclays to change your cash

The offer is available to new customers who open a Barclays bank account or Barclays Premier current account on the Barclays app before 30 August 2024.

Customers must then complete a full switch through the Current Account Switching Service.

There are some conditions, however. Customers who open a regular bank account at Barclays to get the £175 exchange offer will also have to join the Barclays Blue Rewards programme, which costs £5 a month.

Blue Rewards is a programme that Barclays current account customers can join. It offers linked savings accounts and cashback benefits in exchange for a monthly fee of £5.

Barclays recently removed its £5-a-month cash bonus for Blue Rewards members who pay at least £800 a month into their linked current account and make two direct debits.

It replaced it with free Apple TV+ and a streaming service for U.S. Major League Soccer.

The £5 loyalty payment offset the cost of the monthly fee. Now, with its removal, Blue Rewards members are actually paying £60 a year for Blue Rewards benefits.

This means customers will end up having to pay £60 a year in Blue Rewards fees to get the £175 cash bonus.

The other option to get the £175 exchange bonus is to open a Barclays Premier current account.

The Barclays Premier Current Account is only available to customers who have a Barclays current account and who either have a gross annual income of at least £75,000, or have a total balance of at least £100,000 in savings or investments, or a combination of both.

After opening a Barclays bank account or Premier current account, new customers must use CASS to complete a full current account switch and set up at least two active direct debits.

Customers will need to deposit at least £800 into any Barclays account they have opened before 30 August 2024.

The £175 will be paid into the new account within 28 days of completing all these steps.

Barclays has joined the likes of Lloyds, Nationwide and First Direct in offering cash to those who switch banks in a bid to attract deposits from new customers.

First Direct and Lloyds are also offering £175 to customers who switch companies, while Nationwide is paying £200 to existing Nationwide members who have a mortgage or savings account but no current account.

Banks tend to launch switching incentives when they want to attract more customers.

For example, in the last three months of 2023, Nationwide gained 196,260 customers thanks to a £200 switching incentive lasting four months from 21 September 2023.