The latest news to help you get the most from your bank account.
Here’s my monthly update sharing changes for leading UK current accounts, as well as some of the relevant articles you might have missed on the blog.
March’s bank account update video
For a more detailed update, watch this video from our YouTube channel.
March’s current account offers
Latest bank switching deals
The newest deal is from Lloyds is for £175, plus you get access to a fixed 6.25% regular saver and a lifestyle benefit such as free Disney+ with ads or six cinema tickets.
Co-op Bank has also returned. You get £75 for switching and another £75 if you keep the account and make 10 debit card transactions and have two direct debits pay out each month for the first three months. There’s also a variable 7% regular saver.
Nationwide is offering £175 for a personal account and another £175 for a joint account switch, so a couple could potentially get £525.
First Direct’s switching offer is also for £175. Don’t forget you can access a 7% regular saver with this bank.
If you’re really quick, the day we publish this article (27 February) is the last date to start the switch with TSB for up to £190 and a freebie.
There was no sign of an offer from Natwest, a change from 2023 and 2024 when they launched deals mid-February.
Virgin Money offers £25 for kids account
If you’re a parent with a Virgin Money account you can open up a M Power account for children aged 11 to 15 and get a £25 credit added.
You need to do this for them by 5 March 2025 and add at least £1 before 12 March 2025. The cash will be added by the end of March.
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March’s current account news
Club Lloyds fee to increase
From 2 June 2025 the fee for the Club Lloyds account will increase from £3 a month to £5 a month. However, no one should be paying this since there’s a simple way to cancel it out. You just need to deposit £2,000 into the account each calendar month. This money doesn’t need to be in one go or stay in the account, so you could even put the same £100 in and out 20 times if you wanted!
Another change is that from 14 April 2025 you can use the Club Lloyds card abroad for spending and cashwithdrawls without a charge.
Barclays outage issues
Between 31 January and 3 February, Barclays customers might have found technical issues stopped money going in or out of their account. Obviously that was a problem for a lot of people, particularly those who might not have got their pay or had big expenses to cover. If you were affected, particularly if it cost you money in charges or fees, then make sure you talk to Barclays about getting that money back.
But it’s also another reminder to not keep all your cash in a single bank account. At the very least have two, if not a handful more.
More bank closures announced
After a short lull, the banks are back with announcements of more closures in 2025. We’ve covered them in these articles so you can see if your local branch is affected:
Zopa extends beta trial of new account
Back in November I told you about Zopa’s new current account which was available to some Zopa customers if you joined a waitlist. Well it seems that even though it’s not been officially launched, the beta trial is open to more people now, if not everyone.
One of the members of our Facebook community spotted an advert on social media for the account, and was able to apply straight after downloading the Zopa app.
The features right now includes
- 7.5% regular saver
- 2% interest on in account balances
- 2% cashback on direct debits up to £1,500 a year.
Obviously the offering could change before it’s full launched, but we’ll do a full review when it is.
Just a quick reminder that if the eligibility terms for a possible £100 bonus from Nationwide are the same this year as the previous two (we’ll find out in May), then you need to take specific actions to trigger the reward in two months out of January, February and March 2025, and add savings in March.
Trading 212
Though the Trading 212 card offers just 0.5% cashback on spending, you could combine it with earning a decent rate of interest on the account balance – making it something to consider if you wanted everything in one place. Well now the spending had to come from a separate pot, so you’ll have to move cash over to access it.
HSBC closes Zing app
From 2 April 2025 existing customers will no longer be able to use the money transfer and overseas spending card and app Zing. It’s already closed for new applications.
If you’ve any money in an account, make sure you transfer it out elsewhere ASAP. There will be no charge for converting other currencies into pounds. You’ll still be able to do this, or spend with the card, until 21 May 2025.
The app itself will fully shutdown on 22 May 2025, though you can manually close it earlier if you want.
First Direct switches to Mastercard
First Direct customers should keep an eye out for a new debit card in the coming months as the bank is switching it’s card issuer from Visa to Mastercard. The old card will stop working after 30 days.
First Direct customers lose HSBC access
From 9 April 2025, First Direct customers will no longer be able to use the self-service machines in HSBC branches as they won’t accept the new FD debit cards that are being issued.
This branch access was a handy way to pay in cash since FD is online only. You’ll now have to speak to a member of staff to do this, or you can use a Post Office.
Editor’s pick: 5.03% savings
Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 5.03%
Our top current accounts for March 2025
I always think it’s worth having more than one current account (find out why here) and here’s my run-down of the top accounts to have this month.
