Over the past 12 years, current account openings in the UK have surged by more than 25%, far outpacing adult population growth of just 8.5%.1 Why? Quite simply, because of switchers.
Cash incentives have helped fuel the boom. It’s cited in the past two Curinos Shopper Surveys as the #1 reason respondents switched their primary current account.
But while incentives are effective in generating volume, they compromise quality and long-term value. According to recent Curinos eBenchmarkers data, UK banks that increased the number of incentives or left them unchanged experienced a 7% larger drop in primary customers compared with those that decreased them. These customers may be drawn in by the offer, but they are less committed to the relationship.
Banks that increased the number of incentives or left them unchanged saw 7% less crediting among primary customers
So what’s the right balance for increasing volumes and at the same time ensuring acceptable quality? That’s the million-pound question. Some institutions have introduced stricter qualification criteria—like minimum direct deposit thresholds, transaction requirements, digital engagement criteria or requiring sign-up to a paid-for current account. And they’ve been rewarded with higher sales quality compared to peers with fewer requirements. 2
Whatever the balance, one thing’s clear: striking the right one can be elusive without the data-fueled analytics that provide a comprehensive line of sight into the consumer, market performance and customer experience.
1 2012 vs 2023 population estimates- ONS
2 Sales quality is defined in 3 ways which include the proportion of new sales that credit their account a minimum of £1k (as a monthly average), leave it unfunded or close it in the 6 months following opening. A higher sales quality would infer that the proportion of new sales crediting over £1k is larger, while unfunded and closed accounts is smaller.
Yasmin Cheema contributed to this article.
