The Current Account Switch Service Reveals Top Switching Regions

New analysis from the Current Account Switch Service reveals that Birmingham was the most active area for current account switching in the first three months of this year with 5,971 switches, followed by Sheffield (4,961) and Northern Ireland (4,814).

The data also reveals that 25-40 year olds were most likely to switch, accounting for 41% of all switches, totalling 91,279 across the quarter.

The data applies to the most recently available switching data from first quarter of the year, breaking down the Service’s latest Dashboard release which reported 222,805 total switches2.

When its postcodes are combined, London was the top area for switching with 15,968. However, the estimated population of Greater London (8.8m) is significantly bigger than Birmingham (1.1m), which means the switching rate per person is far lower. When measuring by postcode only, the top 10 areas for switching are as follows:

1. Birmingham – 5,971
2. Sheffield – 4,961
3. Northern Ireland – 4,814
4. Manchester – 4,523
5. Nottingham – 4,190
6. Newcastle upon Tyne – 4,117
7. Bristol – 4,068
8. Glasgow – 3,758
9. Leicester – 3,612
10. East London – 3,609

A full regional breakdown of switching data is available on request

25-40 age range dominates switching

The latest ONS data4 reveals 29.1% of all people in England and Wales (17.3 million) were under 25 years old, 20.2% (12.0 million) were 25 to 39 years old, 26.3% (15.6 million) were 40 to 59 years old, and 24.4% (14.5 million) were aged 60 and over.

While only making up one fifth of the population, 25-40 year olds punched well above their weight in switching, accounting for 41% of switches (91,279).

Those above 40 make up 51% of the population, but older generations are significantly less likely to switch accounts than their 25-40 counterparts. The 41-50, 51-64, and 65+ age groups made up 48% of switches, with 34,229 (16%), 37,238 (17%) and 33,157 (15%) switches, respectively.

By far the biggest outliers were the younger generation, who are proportionally far less likely to switch. Despite accounting for 29.1% of the population, young adults below the age of 25 only made up 11% of switches. The 18-24 demographic accounted for 24,812 (11%) switches, while those under 18 switched by far the least, with only 426 switches recorded, equivalent to 0.2%.

Tens of thousands trust the Service with £10,000+ transfers

Over 14,000 people trusted the Service to move balances above £10,000. 13,259 were between £10,000 – £99,999.99, and nearly a thousand (995) people had over £100,000, highlighting the security and safety the Service provides.

The most common amount when switching was between £0.01 – £999.99, with 130,824 switches, making up 59% of the total. A further 24% (52,681) was between £1,000 – £999.99. Only 10% of switches (22,346) had no money in the account.

Adjacent research3 from the Service found that one in four have less than £250 in their current account, and a vast majority (77%) have less than one month’s average salary. On the higher end of the spectrum, nearly a quarter (23%) have over £2,500 sitting in a current account, potentially resulting in significant amounts of missed interest with savings accounts not being utilised.

Two thirds (66%) of those with more than £15,000 in their account were men, and one-fifth (21%) were based in London. 1 in 10 (11%) of the group had recently bought a home, more than double those outside of this group (4%). The largest age grouping within this subset was over 65s (33%), followed by 25-34 (20%).

John Dentry, Product Owner at Pay.UK, owner and operator of the Current Account Switch Service, said:

“This data provides great insight into our latest Dashboard release and allows us to peel back the curtain on what is driving switching and where it’s happening most. As consumers face branch closures, interest rate drops and changing account benefits, they’re eager to switch to ensure their account still works for them.”

“Regardless of whether you have one hundred pounds or a hundred thousand, we’re here to quickly and easily move your cash, all protected under our guarantee. Whatever your financial situation, it’s always worth considering your options.”