Bacs says switching is easier than you think

Research (1) announced today by Bacs, the company behind Direct Debit, shows that, even in this volatile finance climate, 69% of people say they believe they have the best account for their needs. In fact, UK customers are less likely to switch bank than people in any other European country (2).

Bacs believes that stagnant switching behaviour is largely due to consumer misconceptions. Its research shows that almost half (46%) of all people that have not switched their bank account because they believe "it will be too much hassle", with 27% thinking that changing their regular payments and Direct Debits would be "too complicated".

Those statistics prompted Bacs and its member banks to produce a simple step-by-step 'Account Switching' guide which also answers people's most frequently asked questions. The guide is free and can be found at www.thesmartwaytopay.co.uk/accountswitching

"Direct Debit is designed specifically so that it doesn't present a barrier to switching," said Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs. "The process of moving Direct Debits from one bank to another is very straightforward and it's our job to make sure that bank customers understand how easy it is.

"There are now many useful services to help consumers compare banking products and find the bank that best suits their needs. But these all fall short of actually telling consumers how to go about changing from one service provider to another, so we felt producing something which guided customers through the process was warranted."

With the continued growth of internet, supermarket and telephone banking all contributing to an increasingly competitive marketplace, there are major financial advantages to be gained by consumers who are prepared to switch banks.

The service costs nothing and is made as simple and painless as possible for the account holder - all the customer needs to do is decide which Direct Debits and Standing Orders to move over to the new account and leave the rest to the new bank.

(1) Bacs Family Finance Tracker 2009 Survey
(2) Office of Fair Trading research