Most people put off changing bank because of the admin rather than the bank. This page exists to make the admin predictable, including the parts that are genuinely your job.
The four steps
Three of these we do. The third one is yours, and it is the one that catches people out.
1. Open the account
Register, upload a photo ID and proof of address. Most personal applications are decided within one business day.
2. Bring your payments across
Your standing orders and direct debits are listed for you. Tick the ones to move and we set them up on the same dates.
3. Redirect your income
Give your employer, and anyone else who pays you, the new details. Only you can do this, and nothing else finishes until it is done.
4. Close the old account
Leave it open for a month first, with a small balance in it, so anything you forgot still lands somewhere.
Do not close the old account early
An annual subscription or an infrequent direct debit will not show up in a single month of statements. Keeping the old account open for a full cycle costs nothing and prevents the one failure that actually hurts.
How long it takes
| Stage | Typical | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Application decision | Within 1 business day | How quickly your documents are verified. |
| Account usable | Same day as approval | Virtual card is live immediately; plastic follows by post. |
| Payments moved | A few business days | Your old bank supplying the list. |
| Income redirected | Your next pay cycle | Your employer’s payroll cut-off. |
| Safe to close the old account | About a month | Whether any annual payments are still to appear. |
Who to tell
Work through this list once and the switch is finished. Missing one of these is the only way a switch goes wrong.
- Your employer, or your clients if you invoice.
- Anyone paying you regularly: a pension, a tenant, a benefit.
- Subscriptions billed to a card rather than a direct debit — these do not move automatically and are the most commonly missed.
- Insurance policies, which often bill annually and will not appear in a month of statements.
- Anywhere your card is stored: app stores, online retailers, transport accounts.
- Anyone holding a standing order to you rather than from you.
Card subscriptions are the gap
Direct debits move with the account. Payments taken from your card number do not, because they are attached to the card rather than the account. Search a year of statements for recurring card charges and update each one.
Switching a business account
- Expect longer: verifying a company and its owners is more involved than verifying a person.
- Run both accounts in parallel for a full billing cycle rather than a month.
- Move payroll last, and only after a test payment has cleared.
- Update your invoices, your accounting system and your payment provider settlement details.
- Tell your customers in writing, and expect at least one to keep paying the old account anyway.
Announce new details carefully
A message telling customers your bank details have changed is exactly what invoice-redirection fraud looks like. Expect to be questioned, and give them a way to verify it that does not rely on the message itself.
Ready to start
Documents you may also need
Ways to Bank
Every way to reach your money and reach us: online, on a phone, over the telephone, at a cash machine, and in person — with what each one is best at.
Account TiersEssential
The daily standard: no monthly fee, no minimum balance, a contactless debit card and full access to online banking.
Business CheckingEssential Base
The operating account for a young company: unlimited digital payments, instant virtual cards and the treasury app, without a monthly minimum.
This document was last updated on 1 August 2026. We publish the current version here at all times; superseded versions are available on request.
If anything on this page is unclear, write to us and we will explain it.