Chase steals the show as the ‘Best British Bank’ at Smart Money People’s British Bank Awards 2023!

On Thursday 11 May, Smart Money People revealed the winners of the British Bank Awards 2023, at its annual awards ceremony in London, hosted this year by comedian Dominic Holland. In its first year of entering the awards, Chase won not only ‘Best British bank’, but also the coveted ‘Best savings provider’ and ‘Best current account provider’ categories.

It’s the first time the main award hasn’t been won by either Monzo or Starling in five years, although both still picked up competitive awards on the night, which was attended by over 390 guests. Monzo took home ‘Best banking app’ and ‘Best credit card provider’ for their Flex account, whilst Starling collected the ‘Best business banking provider’ award.

Leek Building Society was awarded ‘Best building society’ for the first time, along with ‘Best building society savings provider’. Other companies that took home multiple awards were Tembo, and ClearBank.

Yonder was this year’s ‘Best newcomer’, with an impressive perfect score in their reviews, having launched in 2022 as “the rewards credit card for Londoners”.

Almost double the amount of votes were left for this year’s British bank awards, with 156,000 reviews left over 13 weeks across 29 categories. The four sponsors of the 2023 awards were The Fintech Times, 71a, GDS link and Finova.

Commenting on the results of the evening, CEO of Smart Money People Jacqueline Dewey said: “The cost of living crisis means that financial service companies are providing an increasingly important role, supporting their customers during such a difficult time. They’re also facing additional pressures of their own, not to mention the challenges posed by frequent base rate changes and impending Consumer Duty requirements. So it’s great to recognise those going above and beyond during the past year.

“The British bank awards are 100% down to the voice of the customer and the reviews we receive on Smart Money People. There’s no judging panel, making the achievement all the more special. Both the finalists and the winners of the awards this year should be extremely proud of their achievements.

‘From our new entrants to returning regulars, we thank all companies who’ve entered and sponsored awards. It’s been wonderful to celebrate the first British bank awards with our new branding, and we’re looking forward to celebrating our tenth anniversary next year.”

British Bank Awards 2023 Winners and Highly Commended:

Headline awards
Best British bank – Chase

Innovation of the year – Tembo

Best banking app – Monzo

Best newcomer – Yonder

Customer service champion – Darlington Building Society

Treating customers fairly champion – Habito

Personal finance journalist of the year – Georgie Frost

Online financial influencer of the year – The Savvy Spender (highly commended – mrdealsmanchester)

Best building society – Leek Building Society

Banking-specific awards

Best alternative finance provider – CapitalRise

Best business banking provider – Starling Bank

Best business finance provider – Allica Bank

Best credit card provider – Monzo

Best current account provider – Chase

Best investments provider – Moneybox (highly commended – Circa5000)

Best specialist mortgage provider – Chorley Building Society

Best mortgage broker – Tembo

Best online trading platform – Freetrade

Best personal finance app – Plum

Best personal loan provider – Zopa

Best savings provider – Chase

Best ethical financial provider – Triodos Bank

Best children’s financial provider – HyperJar

Best building society savings provider – Leek Building Society (highly commended – Marsden Building Society)

Partner awards

Marketing and PR partner of the year – Teamspirit

The pioneer award – ClearBank

RegTech partner of the year – FullCircl

Technology partner of the year – ClearBank

Consultancy of the year – 11:FS