Have you ever thought about switching banks? No? Me neither. The thought of having to open up a new account, switch over all your direct debits, wait for a new bank card to arrive - it makes you tired just thinking about it. But as I have discovered recently, it's actually not that hard to change banks, and it could earn you some money in the process.
All you need is your ID, details of your old bank account, and that's it. How I switched banks and pocketed £175 in the process I've been with the same bank - Barclays - since I moved to the UK more than seven years ago. And before that, I had been with the Commonwealth Bank back in Australia my entire life.
How to save money I had been with the same two phone companies my entire life as well - Virgin (in Australia) and O2 (UK) up until recently when I switched over to EE. So as you can tell I am very much a creature of habit. I have only ever had the one, everyday account, with Barclays.
And it wasn't until the other day when I thought it was about time I opened a savings account that I began looking around at other banks - in an attempt to find the best interest rate. I had written, and heard, about switch deals that major banks likes Nationwide, Lloyds and Barclays offered from time to time and so thought I would shop around and see what I could find. I eventually settled on Lloyds, as they had good interest rates on their savings accounts and a live switch deal.
The switch deal offered £175 if you moved banks and opened a .