NatWest relaunches current account switching offer with a £180 cash carrot paid within seven days

NatWest is the latest major bank to launch a current account switching deal with a £180 cash carrot on offer.

New and existing customers can bag £180 by switching their main current account to NatWest’s Reward account.

Customers must use the official Current Account Switching Service, pay £1,250 into the account and log into the mobile app within 60 days of switching.

Once all of these steps have been taken and the switch completed, the £180 cash is promised within seven days.

Existing NatWest customers who switch their current account from another of their current account to the Reward account can get this deal.

Direct debits and standing orders will be automatically transferred to the newly opened account within a week through the Current Account Switch Service.

Unlike NatWest’s previous switching deals which have offered £200 in the past, this cash bonus is only available to customers who open NatWest’s Reward account and not its Everyday or Select current account.

On top of the £180 cash bonus, customers can get an additional £60 a year through the NatWest Reward account.

For a fee of £2 a month, NatWest’s Reward account says it can give customers £60 back in rewards each year.

Every month customers can receive £4 back in Rewards if they have at least two direct debits and an additional £1 for logging into the bank’s mobile app – a method of stopping people simply switching and using it as a secondary account, rather than their main one.

Reward account customers also earn 1 per cent back in rewards when shopping at NatWest’s retail partners.

Lewis Broadie, of NatWest, said: ‘As well as the upfront cash offer, we offer a wide range of features and benefits, from helping kids with their money through our Rooster offering to our save the change feature, round-ups.’

How does it stack up to other switching bonuses?

Switching bonuses are making a comeback with four major banks now offering them – these are First Direct, Nationwide Lloyds and now NatWest.

The benchmark for switching bonuses these days starts at £175 with the top deals offering as much as £200.

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First Direct

First Direct is paying a £175 cash bonus to customers who switch their main current account to their 1st Account current account.

Customers must make the switch through the Cass and move across at least two direct debits or standing orders.

They also need to pay at least £1,000, make at least five debit card payments and log onto digital banking.

Customers will receive the cash by the 20th of the following month after the switch has been completed.

Nationwide

Nationwide is giving customers the chance to nab £175 if they switch to their Flexplus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount.

Customers must switch a non-Nationwide account to one of these three account options through the Cass and transfer across at least two active direct debits.

Customers also need to deposit £1,000 in the account and make one debit card payment within 31 days.

The cash will be paid within 10 days of the switching criteria being met. Nationwide’s FlexPlus account has a £13 monthly fee, which is increasing to £18 a month from 1 December.

Lloyds

Lloyds Bank is offering new customers a £200 switching bonus to move their current account to one of its Club Lloyds accounts.

This is the biggest switching bonus on the market and also the speediest – the cash is paid within three days of the switch completion.

Club Lloyds accounts come with fees ranging from £3 a month to £22.50 depending on the account. The £3 monthly fee for the basic account is waived if customers deposit £2,000 each calendar month.

Customers need to switch through the Cass, transferring at least three active direct debits as part of the switch.