New GB survey shows first-time switchers driving shift toward digital banking
Curinos, a global data-intelligence business that brings together exclusive expertise, insights and analytics for the financial services industry, today reveals the findings of its 2025 Great Britain Shopper Survey.
The study, which canvasses the views of 2,290 people across England, Scotland and Wales who opened a primary current account in the past three years, examines how UK customers shop for their primary current account and what’s driving them to switch.
It reveals a retail banking landscape in flux, where changing digital expectations, competitive switching offers and generational shifts in behaviour are reshaping loyalty.
Key findings include:
· 61% of recent current account openers (opened their primary current account in the past three years) chose a Big Seven bank.
· 24% of switchers cited a switching offer as the main reason for leaving, ahead of inconvenient branches (17%) and bad service (16%).
· The Big Seven are more likely to use cash incentives (30%) than digital banks (27%) to attract primary customers. However, incentivised customer acquisition doesn’t guarantee satisfaction – the Big Seven have an average Net Promoter Score of 8.3, compared to 8.7 for digital challengers.
· 34% of customers leaving a Big Seven bank switched to a digital challenger, driven by competitive offers (22%), a dislike of their previous bank’s mobile app (18%) and online banking (18%).
· 73% of those that switched their primary Current Account to a digital challenger were switching for the first time since 2020.
· The average recent purchaser keeps 66% of their banking relationships outside of their primary bank, which rises to 71% among the Mass Affluent segment.
· 10% of all recent openers still prefer to open their bank accounts in person.
· Boomers are twice as likely as GenZ to establish primacy with a bank they’ve never used before (76% versus 37%).
Kurt Vogt Gwerder, strategy consultant at Curinos said: “The 2025 GB Shopper Survey shows traditional banks still lead in customer acquisition. However, digital challengers are gaining influence. Customers are no longer staying with banks out of habit – they’re switching for value. Cash incentives still attract, but don’t guarantee satisfaction or loyalty. Digital challengers are building trust through better digital experiences and more relevant offerings, such as financial guidance. Promotions may draw people in, but only strong, engaging value propositions will keep them.”
Where are switchers going?
While the UK’s Big Seven banking providers remain the first stop for ‘new-to-banking’ customers (72%), digital banks are making significant gains with more seasoned customers. In fact, 34% of customers leaving a Big Seven bank switched to a digital challenger. Notably, 75% of these switchers were moving for the first time since 2020, significantly above the market average of 62%, highlighting a behavioral shift among long-term customers.
Among those switching from a Big Seven bank to a digital one, the top drivers of attrition were competitive offers (22%) and dislike of their previous bank’s mobile app (18%) and online banking (18%).
Digital banks now acquire 59% of their primary customers from switchers coming directly from the Big Seven. Despite this growing competition, the Big Seven banks continue to dominate, securing 61% of primary current account openings over the past three years.
Digital dominates but branches still matter
Majority of customers continue to prefer opening their account digitally (84%), with smartphones (61%) being the most preferred channel versus on a desktop (18%) or via a tablet (5%).
However, on average, 10% of all recent account openers still prefer to set up their current account in person, with Boomers the generation most likely to prefer this option (23%). Thirteen per cent of those new to banking are more likely to visit a branch to open an account, whilst 15% of newcomers to the country are likely to do so. This demonstrates genuine demand for the service, suggesting branches remain a vital channel, particularly for interactions perceived as complex or stressful.