Santander matches top current account switching incentive

Consumers can now earn £200 by switching to Santander’s Edge Current Account.

High-street bank Santander launched a £200 switching incentive for its Edge Current Account yesterday. It means this is the joint-highest switching offer on the market, matching the switching incentive available from Lloyds Bank. 

“With many of us being mindful of the rising cost of household bills, groceries and travel, our Edge Current Account is specifically designed to pay cashback on these essential bills and spend,” said Hetal Parmar, Head of Banking at Santander UK.

While commanding a £3 monthly fee, the Santander Edge current account is designed to earn cashback on everyday spending.

Its holders can earn 1% cashback on grocery and transport-based spending with its debit card. This is capped at £10 a month.

In addition, users can earn a further 1% cashback on household bills via direct debit. This includes spending on council tax, gas and electricity, mobile, landline, broadband and paid-for TV packages up the value of £10.

Not only can those switching benefit from cashback spending incentives, but they can also gain exclusive access to the Santander Edge Saver (Issue 1), a market-leading easy access account.

While this offer of a rate of 4.00% AER may seem enticing, it only pays this rate on balances up to £4,000. With no interest paid on balances which exceed this limit, the most you’ll be able to earn from this account is £13.10 a month, according to Santander.

This rate includes a bonus of 0.48% AER for 12 months and requires a minimum deposit of £1.

“The Santander Edge current account may well entice consumers who want to earn cashback on their household bills and essential spending, but also wish to stimulate their savings habit and earn some decent interest on an account that offers them complete flexibility,” said Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfacts, in an article last year.

Lloyds Bank is the only provider to match Santander’s switching incentive offer of £200.

However, this banking provider has only made the switching incentive applicable to a selection of its accounts which require monthly fees. These include its Silver and Platinum accounts, which include some form of insurance.

Alternatively, the next best switching incentive on the market is from first direct, a retail banking division of HSBC. Not only does this pay £175, but users will be able to gain access to its regular saver at 7.00% AER.