Bank and building societies “legally bribe” by offering cash incentives to new customers to encourage them to move money and you can potentially make some extra cash from them
One Martin Lewis banking tip helped this family cash in an extra £3,000 in one year.
The recent Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter talked about bank switching incentives. Bank and building societies “legally bribe” you by offering cash incentives to new customers to encourage them to move their money. The MSE team noted that the bank switching market can blow hot and cold and six weeks ago there were no offers on the table. But now, there are four.
The MSE team said when “done carefully” you could make multiple switches within the year and make hundreds, or even thousands from the bribes. To show this, the MSE team highlighted the success story of Simon and his family. Simon and his wife undertook 10 bank switches across one year. This alongside spending through stoozing and cashback sites managed to bring in £3,000 which they then used to pay for a family holiday.
The email said: “Over 12 months my wife and I undertook 10 bank switches, managed our spending through stoozing, and made sure we used cashback sites for purchases. Through these methods, we managed to amass £3,000 which we used to pay for a seven-day family holiday in Rome, which we loved. We managed this all through the help of MSE. Thank you MSE for paying for our holiday – we’d not have been able to go to Rome without your help.”
To get the free cash through these incentives, you need to close and switch your current account using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). This is a free service which will move your balance, direct debits, and salary over to the new bank within seven days. With bank switching offers, you often need to jump through a few hoops to be eligible for the money. These often include having to deposit a certain amount of money into the account or having to log in to online or mobile banking.
In some cases, you’ll need to be a new customer or not have held an account with that bank for a certain number of years. Due to this, you should always read the eligibility criteria carefully before you switch. Just incase you go through the faff and are not eligible for any cash at the end.
