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- The cooperative pays new customers up to £150 to transfer their current accounts
- Six banks now offer a cash bribe to attract new customers
The Co-op has become the latest bank to try to attract new customers by offering a cash bonus.
It has launched a limited-time switching bonus worth up to £150 for new customers who move their existing account to Co-op.
Customers who switch their current account to a Co-op Standard Current Account or Daily Extra Account will receive £75 within seven days.
Following the crowd: Co-op has become the latest bank to try to attract new customers with a switching bonus, offering up to £150
To get the full £150, customers will also need to open a regular savings account.
An additional £15 per month for five months, for a total of £75, will be paid into the regular savings account within seven days of the 10th of the month following the qualifying period.
How to get the cash bonus
There are quite a few hoops to jump through to get the initial payment of £75, and even more to get the additional payments of £15 a month to make up the full £150.
To get the first £75, customers must open a standard Co-op current account or daily extra account.
Customers who received a Co-op switching incentive after November 1, 2022 will not be eligible for this switching bonus.
By the 30th day after the switch is completed, customers must have two active direct debits set up on the account; these may include any that are transferred as part of the change.
A minimum of £1,000 must also be deposited into the account.
Customers must register for mobile or online banking and make a minimum of ten card transactions, including through their digital wallet.
To get the next £75, customers will need to open a regular savings union.
Monthly payments of £15 will not begin until the switch has been completed and switchers receive the initial payment of £75.
Switchers must open the regular savings account no later than midnight on the last day of the full calendar month after the switch is completed.
They must also have deposited at least £50 into the regular savings account in the qualifying month.
Once the saver is set up and money deposited, switchers will need to start depositing £1,000 or more each month into the current account, make a minimum of ten card transactions each month and maintain two or more active direct debits.
Banks seek to attract customers with cash
If all that is too complicated, there are plenty of other banks offering cash bribes once again.
The Co-op has joined the likes of Santander, Lloyds, Nationwide, TSB and First Direct by offering cash to cash changers in a bid to attract deposits from new customers.
First Direct, Lloyds and Santander offer £175 to switching customers, TSB pays £100 cash up front and £10 cashback a month for six months to switchers, while Nationwide pays £200 to existing Nationwide members who have a mortgage or a savings account. But I don’t have a checking account.
Banks tend to launch incentives for switching 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 that ran for four months from September 21, 2023.
Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at MoneyComms, said: ‘Switching deals certainly seems to be back in vogue.
‘Data from the Current Account Switching Service shows spikes in new customers when cash incentives are offered: Nationwide, NatWest and HSBC have all had reasonable success in the last 12 months.
Hagger said: “The only problem for banks is how many customers actually stay for a significant period of time – there will surely be an element that will be switched to the next cash giveaway as soon as they can.”
For this reason, some banks such as Co-op are choosing to spread the cash bonus over five months if customers continue to deposit £1,000 a month into their current account, in a bid to stop customers taking the cash and rushing out. Look for the next highest bonus. .
Meanwhile, TSB is offering a £100 switching bonus and £10 cashback a month for six months, as long as switchers make five or more TSB debit card spends in the first month, then 20 or more after that. expenses with the debit card in each of the first. six months.
Hagger adds: “It’s a good form of marketing because not only do you get a new customer, but you also know you’ve stolen one from one of your rivals; however, its profitability as an acquisition tool is up for debate.” .
