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Starling Bank and Monzo voted Britain’s best banks
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Sarah DavidsonStarling Bank and Monzo are the nation’s favourite banks, with their personal current accounts ranked joint first in the Competition and Markets Authority’s annual customer satisfaction survey.
First Direct’s personal current account came in third place for service quality.
Royal Bank of Scotland came in last, with fewer than half its customers saying they would recommend their current account to friends or family.
Virgin Money current account holders were also unimpressed with just 49% saying they’d recommend the account while only one in two TSB customers said they rated their account enough to recommend it to friends.
Following an investigation into the retail banking sector, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) made it compulsory for all of Britain’s 16 largest banks to take part in an annual survey ranking their service “so customers get the full picture”.
Account providers must display their ranking prominently both in branch and on their websites and apps.
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Some 85% of Starling Bank’s current account customers said they rated the bank’s online and mobile services while 83% gave Monzo’s digital service the thumbs up and 79% of Halifax customers were also impressed with its online offering.
Virgin Money, The Co-operative Bank, TSB, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland all scored low on digital service with fewer than 67% of customers willing to recommend their accounts to friends or family.
First Direct and Metro Bank scored highly on overdraft services with Starling Bank coming in a close third.
Branch service was top rated at Metro Bank and Nationwide Building Society. Again, Royal Bank of Scotland, TSB and Virgin Money were ranked in the bottom three.
The survey also ranked business accounts and found Starling Bank came out top, followed by Monzo and then Handelsbanken. The worst business accounts ranking in the bottom three were The Co-operative Bank, Virgin Money and HSBC.
Adam Land, senior director at the CMA, said: “As the rising cost of living bites, it’s important that people and businesses have the information they need to manage their money and make savings. These results show how banks are treating their customers at a time when many are feeling the pinch. When times are tough you find out who’s fighting your corner and if your bank doesn’t match up to the competition – you can vote with your feet and make a switch.”
If you’ve found another bank that could give you a better deal, the Current Account Switch Service helps to make the process of switching much simpler. This free service is available to anyone with a personal or business current account in the UK.