Spring is here — or near enough — and if you spent February umming and ahhing about switching your bank account, March is the month to stop deliberating and start collecting. The switching market remains competitive, with several banks still offering meaningful cash bonuses for moving your current account via the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Here's your complete guide to what's available, what's changed, and how to make the most of it before the financial year ends on 5th April.
What's Available This Month
If you've been following our January and February roundups, you'll know that the switching landscape has been strong through the early months of 2020. February's big story was First Direct bumping its offer to £250 — the largest straightforward cash switching bonus we'd seen in a long time.
As we move into March, the picture is shifting. Banks regularly adjust their offers at the start of the month, and what was available last week isn't necessarily available this week. Rather than quote numbers that might be out of date by the time you read this, here's what you should do:
Check our live offers page for the exact bonuses available right now. We keep it updated so you don't have to cross-reference three different comparison sites.
What we can say is this: the general pattern of the last few months — headline offers in the £100–£250 range, with several banks competing for your custom — hasn't fundamentally changed. Banks are still spending money to acquire current account customers, and the CASS process still makes the actual switch effortless. If anything, the approach of the new financial year in April tends to push banks to be a bit more generous as they try to hit customer acquisition targets.
Here's how to think about the current market:
Top-tier offers (£150+): These are the ones worth prioritising. If a bank is offering £150 or more, that's serious money for what amounts to 20 minutes of form-filling and a 7-day wait. Check whether the big names from recent months — First Direct, HSBC, and similar — are still running their headline deals by visiting our live offers page.
Mid-tier offers (£100–£150): Several banks typically sit in this range. These are still well worth doing, especially if you've already claimed the top-tier bonuses and are working through your switching calendar. At this level, you're being paid roughly £100 per hour of actual effort once you account for the time spent applying and setting up direct debits.
Entry-level offers (under £100): Even the smaller bonuses are free money. A £50 offer that also comes with 3% interest on your balance can be surprisingly valuable over 12 months when you add it all up.
Interest-paying current accounts: Don't overlook accounts that pay ongoing interest on your balance. With the Bank of England base rate at 0.75%, a current account paying 3–5% on your balance is genuinely competitive with many savings accounts. These are especially useful as holding accounts between switches — park your money somewhere it's earning while you wait for cooling-off periods to expire.
Use our eligibility checker to see which offers you qualify for before you apply.
Why March Is a Smart Month to Switch
There are a few reasons March 2020 is a particularly good time to be thinking about your switching strategy.
The tax year ends on 5th April. If you haven't used your Personal Savings Allowance yet (£1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers, £500 for higher-rate), you've still got time to earn tax-free interest. Switching to an interest-paying current account now means you can start earning immediately in the current tax year and continue into the next one.
FCA overdraft reforms land in April. From next month, banks will have to charge a single annual interest rate on overdrafts instead of the confusing patchwork of daily fees and charges that exist now. For many people, this will make overdrafts significantly more expensive. If you currently rely on a cheap arranged overdraft, March is your last chance to shop around for the best terms before the new rules kick in. Some switching offers include interest-free overdraft buffers, which become even more valuable in this new world.
Spring cleaning your finances. There's something satisfying about starting the new tax year with your banking sorted. If you switch in early March, your bonus should be confirmed well before summer — giving you a clear picture of your finances as you head into the rest of 2020.
Interest rate uncertainty. There's growing speculation about whether the Bank of England might cut the base rate in the coming months, particularly given the economic uncertainty around coronavirus and its potential impact on the global economy. If rates do fall, the interest rates on savings accounts and interest-paying current accounts will likely follow. Locking in a switch now — particularly to an account with a fixed introductory interest rate — could be a smart move.
Your March Switching Plan
Whether you're brand new to bank switching or a seasoned switcher, here's how to approach March.
If you're new to switching:
Welcome — you're about to discover one of the simplest ways to earn extra money in the UK. The process works like this:
- Open a basic current account with any bank (this is your "sacrificial" account that you'll switch away from).
- Once it's open, use the Current Account Switch Service to switch it to whichever bank is offering the best bonus.
- Set up the minimum requirements — usually two active direct debits and a monthly deposit of £1,000–£1,750. A couple of £1/month charity donations cover the direct debits, and redirecting your salary or setting up a standing order covers the deposit.
- Wait 7 working days for the switch to complete, then meet the criteria for 1–2 months.
- Collect your bonus.
Our switching guide walks through every step in detail, including how to set up cheap direct debits and avoid the common mistakes that can cost you your bonus.
If you switched in January or February:
Good — you're ahead of the game. Now it's time to plan switch number two (or three). Check whether your cooling-off period from the first switch allows you to move again, and open a new sacrificial account if needed. The goal is to have a switching rhythm: one switch every 2–3 months, always targeting the highest available offer you're eligible for.
If you switched to First Direct in February for their £250 bonus, you'll want to hold that account for the minimum required period before moving on. Use the waiting time productively — open a regular saver account if your new bank offers one, and look into how stoozing works to layer on additional income.
If you've exhausted the main offers:
Don't stop optimising. Even if you've done the big switches, there are several ways to keep earning:
- Regular saver accounts at 5–7% AER are often available as a perk of the current accounts you've switched to. The actual return is roughly half the headline rate (because you drip-feed money in monthly), but it's still the best risk-free interest rate you'll find anywhere.
- Stoozing — using 0% credit cards to earn interest on money you'd be spending anyway — can add £100–£300 a year depending on your spending and the rates available. Read our guide on how stoozing works.
- Interest-paying current accounts let you earn while you wait for cooling-off periods to reset. Even 3% on £1,500 is £45 a year for doing absolutely nothing.
A Worked Example: Switching Through Spring 2020
Let's say you did the HSBC switch in January and the First Direct switch in February. Here's what your spring could look like:
March: Open a new sacrificial account. Research which mid-tier offer you're eligible for — there are typically several banks offering £100–£125 at any given time. Check the live offers page for what's current. Initiate the CASS switch.
April: Your March switch bonus should be processing. Meanwhile, open a regular saver account with whichever bank gives you the best rate — your First Direct or HSBC account may unlock one. Start drip-feeding £250/month into it.
May: Your Q1 switching income is looking healthy. Add in any interest from parking money in interest-paying current accounts, plus whatever your regular saver is generating, and you're well on your way to earning a meaningful sum from your banking this year.
And remember — if you're part of a couple, you can both run the same switching sequence independently. That's potentially over £1,000 in the first five months of 2020, just from being strategic about where you bank.
The Coronavirus Question
It would be remiss not to mention the elephant in the room. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is dominating the news, and there's genuine uncertainty about what it might mean for the economy. Markets have had a rocky few days, and there's talk of central banks potentially cutting interest rates to cushion any economic impact.
What does this mean for bank switching? In practical terms, probably not much in the short term. Banks aren't going to pull their switching offers overnight because of a virus outbreak. But if the Bank of England does cut the base rate — currently 0.75% — it could drag down savings rates and the interest paid on current accounts.
The takeaway: if you've been meaning to switch to an account with a good introductory interest rate, sooner is better than later. Lock in what's available now rather than waiting to see what happens.
For the switching bonuses themselves, the logic doesn't change. A £250 bonus is still £250 whether the base rate is 0.75% or 0.5%. Collect the free money regardless.
End-of-Tax-Year Checklist
With 5th April approaching, here's a quick checklist:
- Have you used your Personal Savings Allowance? Basic-rate taxpayers can earn £1,000 in interest tax-free. Higher-rate taxpayers get £500. If you're nowhere near this limit, you're leaving tax-efficient earnings on the table.
- Have you maxed your ISA allowance? You can put up to £20,000 into ISAs this tax year. If you've got spare cash from switching bonuses, a cash ISA (however uninspiring the rates) shelters future interest from tax permanently.
- Are your direct debits optimised? With FCA overdraft reforms coming in April, check that your direct debit dates align with your payday to avoid unnecessary overdraft charges under the new regime.
- Is your switching calendar up to date? Map out when cooling-off periods expire and when you'll be eligible for your next switch. Planning ahead is the difference between earning £200 a year and earning £500+.
Common Questions
Can I still switch banks if there's economic uncertainty? Absolutely. The CASS guarantee means your switch will complete in 7 working days regardless of what's happening in the markets. Your money is protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per banking group, and switching bonuses are contractual — once you've met the criteria, the bank has to pay up. Economic wobbles don't change any of this.
Should I wait for better offers or switch now? The classic "timing the market" trap. In our experience, the difference between the best month and an average month is maybe £25–£50 on a single switch. Meanwhile, waiting costs you the time value of that bonus money sitting in your account earning interest. Switch now, collect the bonus, and move on to the next one. Check the live offers page for what's currently available.
How many switches can I do in a year? There's no hard limit from CASS itself, but each bank has its own cooling-off period (typically 12–36 months before you can switch back to them). In practice, most people can do 3–5 switches per year if they plan their route carefully. That's potentially £400–£700 in bonuses alone.
What happens to my credit score if I keep switching? Each application creates a hard credit check, which can temporarily dip your score by a few points. For most people, this recovers within a couple of months. If you're planning a mortgage application in the next 6–12 months, you might want to pause switching — but otherwise, the impact is minimal and temporary. We've covered this in detail in our credit score guide.
Do I need to move my salary to the new account? Most switching offers require a minimum monthly deposit — often £1,000–£1,750. Your salary is the easiest way to meet this, but a standing order from another account works just as well. The bank just wants to see money coming in regularly. Set up the standing order on the day you switch and you won't have to think about it again.
Get started: Check our live offers page for this month's deals, or read the switching guide if you're new to bank switching.