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HSBC offers £200 current account switch incentive

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
24/05/2018

The banking giant has relaunched its switch incentive, which will be available until 30 June.

New customers switching their current account to the HSBC Advance bank account will receive an initial £150 which will be paid within 30 days of the move.

The remaining £50 will be paid a year after the new account has been registered.

In order to be eligible, you need to do the following:

  • Have at least two direct debits/standing orders
  • Pay in at least £1,750 a month or £10,500 over six months, excluding internal transfers
  • Switch via the Current Account Switch Service (CASS)
  • Register online and/or mobile banking within 60 days of the account being opened to qualify for the additional £50.

Customers will also receive a six month interest and fee-free overdraft and there are no monthly fees for the account.

How good is the offer?

Competition in the current account switch battle has ebbed and flowed recently.

Savers lamented the decision by First Direct to axe its up to £125 switch incentive, but this was quickly forgotten when it introduced tech and travel vouchers worth hundreds of pounds. It also has a lower monthly account threshold of £1,000 (or maintaining a £1,000 monthly balance), good for those who aren’t able to reach the minimum £1,750 for the HSBC incentive.

Barclays was the next banking behemoth to re-jig its offer, with new and existing customers receiving double the incentives – the former for a year and the latter for the month of May. As a minimum, new switchers are able to gain £132 a year, after the £3 a month fee (£36 annually).

While this is lower than the HSBC offering, the more products users take out with Barclays, such as a mortgage, insurance, loan etc, the more they’ll be rewarded. This can take the rewards up to a maximum of £348 a year, again after the £36 a year account fee has been taken into consideration. The offer’s available until 29 June.

NatWest also waded into the current account switching war, offering £100 to new successful applicants, paid within 12 weeks of the move. The offer’s available until 15 June and savers can chose one of a number of different current account options, from fee-free to those with monthly fees and incentives such as fee-free foreign transactions until 31 August 2018.

However, it has scaled back the offer after previously touting a £125 switch incentive. This one’s the middle of the road as customers need to pay in £1,500 into the account before 13 July 2018.

Overall, the HSBC offer is good for those who are able to meet the high monthly minimum pay in of £1,750 and for those who prefer cash rather than a voucher, or for those who want a fee-free current account.