Starling and Monzo beat high street banks for service quality

Starling Bank and Monzo lead the way in a survey by the CMA on how well banks are looking after their customers.

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Digital-only bank Starling Bank secured joint-first with Monzo for the best service for personal current account holders in the survey carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), while Starling secured first place for the top-ranked business current account provider, with Monzo just behind.

Meanwhile, Virgin Money found itself in the bottom three for both personal and business account customer service, ranking 15^th out of 16 in personal and joint 13^th in business.

The survey was established as part of the Retail Banking Order, a set of reforms established by the CMA following its retail banking market investigation in 2016.

Adam Land, senior director at the CMA, said that with the cost-of-living crisis deepening, it was important for people and businesses to have the information they need to manage their money and also to save.

“These results show how banks are treating their customers at a time when many are feeling the pinch,” he said.

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“When times are tough you find out who’s fighting your corner and if your bank doesn’t match up to the competition – you can vote with your feet and make a switch.”

The best banks for personal current account customer service in Great Britain:

1st – Starling Bank

1st – Monzo

3rd – First Direct

The best banks for business current account customer service in Great Britain:

1st – Starling Bank

2nd – Monzo

3rd – Handelsbanken

Worst banks for personal current account customer service in Great Britain:

14th – TSB

15th – Virgin Money

16th – Royal Bank of Scotland

Worst banks for business current account customer service in Great Britain:

13th – HSBC

13th – Virgin Money

15th – The Co-operative Bank

Anne Boden, founder and CEO of Starling Bank, says: “At Starling, we’re committed to helping our customers better manage their money and to providing them with customer support 24/7, now more than ever.

“We’ve shown that you don’t have to rip off customers to do this. You can be fair. It all starts with identifying customer needs and working back from there.”

A spokesperson for Monzo said: “Monzo was founded to transform banking and we’re delighted to be consistently recognised for our leading customer service, a testament to the unwavering dedication of our employees who live Monzo’s customer-centric values and mission every day.”

“Earlier this year Monzo was also named the Best British Bank [British Bank Awards] – listening to customers and solving for their needs is in our DNA and we’re excited to keep building the Monzo of the future with them.”