The national campaign will aid hundreds of thousands of customers moving from Ulster Bank and KBC.
The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) has today launched an important national public information and awareness campaign for consumers who are switching their current accounts.
The campaign centres around its new website, movingaccount.ie, which looks to provide comprehensive step-by-step advice and practical tools to switchers.
Conducted in conjunction with the five main retail banks here, the information campaign will include a national advertising campaign that will run over the coming weeks, with a follow up campaign being launched sometime in the Autumn.
Switching website
The main portal of information for consumers can be found on the BPFI’s new microsite, movingaccount.ie. From there consumers can find in-depth information and advice on account switching.
The site contains a multitude of information such as a step-by-step guide on how to move or switch an account, and how to manage other services such as direct debits, standing orders, overdrafts and card payments.
It also contains a section for those helping vulnerable customers, a section on basic bank accounts, and information on fraud awareness and prevention.
Speaking about the campaign, Chief Executive of the BPFI, Brian Hayes said:
To help address [the difficulty in moving banks], today we have launched a nationwide information campaign to provide both personal and business customers with detailed information on all the elements they need to consider as they move to a new banking provider.
We are urging all customers to visit our new website to fully inform themselves of how the process works and to use the checklist we have created to guide them through the journey.
The BPFI also published new figures to highlight the extent of current account switches taking place.
Switching figures
Approximately 222,000 personal current accounts were opened by the main retail banks so far in 2022. That’s according to the latest figures from the BPFI.
Most recently, over 55,000 current accounts were opened in the four weeks ending 10th June, signifying that many Ulster Bank and KBC customers are finally taking action and making the switch.
Alongside the above figures, the data shows that the average number of current accounts opened per week this year was 9,600.
All of the main banks also recently announced record account openings in recent weeks which you can read up on here.
With both exiting banks not set to fully leave until the end of the year, the BPFI has said that its new data series with be updated on a monthly basis to reflect ongoing switching figures.
Use our banking comparison and switching service
At bonkers.ie we provide the most comprehensive current account comparison service in Ireland, and across all of Ireland’s main banking providers.
If you're looking to switch your current account, you can use one of our free comparison tools to compare the features of the main standard, graduate, student, and senior current accounts in seconds.
We also have a wealth of informative content to help keep you informed before, during and after the current account switching process. You can read some of our popular and helpful banking articles below.
- We compared all the main current accounts so you don’t have to in this article.
- Find out more about how to switch your current account here.
- Want to know more about ways to reduce your fees? See here!
- If you’re a UB or KBC customer, find out everything you need to know here.
Don’t forget, we also compare plenty of other products including energy, broadband, insurance, and mortgages, so see what you could save today!
Let us know what you think
What do you think of the BPFI’s latest news? Have you switched your current account from Ulster or KBC lately? Let us know in the comments below. You can also contact us on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
