Canvassing the views of two,290 folks throughout England, Scotland and Wales, Curinos, a world information intelligence enterprise, has now revealed how UK clients are searching for their main present account and what’s driving them to change.
Revealed in its 2025 Nice Britain Shopper Survey, Curinos uncovers that digital expectations, aggressive switching affords and generational shifts in behaviour are reshaping loyalty within the retail banking panorama.
Kurt Vogt Gwerder, technique guide at Curinos, stated: “The 2025 GB Shopper Survey exhibits conventional banks nonetheless lead in buyer acquisition. Nevertheless, digital challengers are gaining affect. Prospects are not staying with banks out of behavior – they’re switching for worth.
“Money incentives nonetheless entice, however don’t assure satisfaction or loyalty. Digital challengers are constructing belief by way of higher digital experiences and extra related choices, akin to monetary steerage. Promotions could draw folks in, however solely robust, participating worth propositions will preserve them.”
Switching from the Huge Seven
Whereas the UK’s Huge Seven banking suppliers stay the primary cease for ‘new-to-banking’ clients (72 per cent), digital banks are making vital good points with extra seasoned clients. In reality, 34 per cent of shoppers leaving a Huge Seven financial institution switched to a digital challenger.
Notably, 75 per cent of those switchers had been transferring for the primary time since 2020, considerably above the market common of 62 per cent, highlighting a behavioural shift amongst long-term clients.
Amongst these switching from a Huge Seven financial institution to a digital one, the highest drivers of attrition had been aggressive affords (22 per cent) and dislike of their earlier financial institution’s cellular app (18 per cent) and on-line banking (18 per cent).
Digital banks now purchase 59 per cent of their main clients from switchers coming immediately from the Huge Seven. Regardless of this rising competitors, the Huge Seven banks proceed to dominate, securing 61 per cent of main present account openings over the previous three years.
Trigger for change
The vast majority of clients proceed to choose opening their account digitally (84 per cent), with smartphones (61 per cent) being essentially the most most popular channel versus on a desktop (18 per cent) or by way of a pill (5 per cent).
Nevertheless, on common, 10 per cent of all current account openers nonetheless choose to arrange their present account in particular person, with Boomers the technology most definitely to choose this selection (23 per cent). 13 per cent of these new to banking usually tend to go to a department to open an account, while 15 per cent of newcomers to the nation are probably to take action. This demonstrates real demand for the service, suggesting branches stay a significant channel, notably for interactions perceived as advanced or disturbing.
Deeper insights
Moreover, the survey discovered that:
- Sixty-one per cent of current present account openers (opened their main present account up to now three years) selected a Huge Seven financial institution.
- Twenty-four per cent of switchers cited a switching supply as the primary motive for leaving, forward of inconvenient branches (17 per cent) and unhealthy service (16 per cent).
- The Huge Seven are extra probably to make use of money incentives (30 per cent) than digital banks (27 per cent) to draw main clients. Nevertheless, incentivised buyer acquisition doesn’t assure satisfaction – the Huge Seven have a mean Internet Promoter Rating of 8.3, in comparison with 8.7 for digital challengers.
- Thirty-four per cent of shoppers leaving a Huge Seven financial institution switched to a digital challenger, pushed by aggressive affords (22 per cent), a dislike of their earlier financial institution’s cellular app (18 per cent) and on-line banking (18 per cent).
- Seventy-three per cent of those that switched their main Present Account to a digital challenger had been switching for the primary time since 2020.
- The typical current purchaser retains 66 per cent of their banking relationships exterior of their main financial institution, which rises to 71 per cent among the many Mass Prosperous phase.
- Ten per cent of all current openers nonetheless choose to open their financial institution accounts in particular person.
- Boomers are twice as probably as GenZ to ascertain primacy with a financial institution they’ve by no means used earlier than (76 per cent versus 37 per cent).
