One taxpayer owned personal and business bank account provider is offering a £100 bonus to customers who switch their current account over until February 19.
Halifax is hoping to attract new banking customers by promoting the new offer, which has proven popular when offered from other banks, such as the currently on-going £300 offer from Santander and last October’s £200 deal from the Co-operative. High Street banks need large current account bases, experts say, as these provide the ideal route to advertise profitable savings and lending deals.
Halifax says that the customer will be given the £100 bonus immediately upon beginning the process to switch his or her account to the member of Lloyds Banking Group. The group is losing more than 600 of its retail branches due to a directive from the European Union, so the push from Halifax is expected to regain a proportion of the 4.6 per cent loss of the market for current accounts as a result of the branch sale.
This is not the only attempt at Halifax to drum up business for its current accounts by rewarding its customers with cash. Halifax current account holders are also awarded £5 every month for paying in £1,000 or more to its Reward Current Account, a popular choice that has no fees if the balance stays in the black.
The process to switch a current account from one provider to the other can take around a month to finalise, Halifax says. However, the bank has a team dedicated to making sure the process goes smoothly, and switchers can get their bonus money the very same day they submit their application in-branch, or within a few days if they apply via the internet or over the telephone.