Martin Lewis, 45, revealed his top pick of UK current accounts, with Natwest coming out as a sure winner.
The Money Saving Expert appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today to advice presenters on where is best to bank.
He said: “The battle to win your banking custom has reignited in January, with a host of players again willing to pay you to switch to them, so unless your bank gently tickles your back, mops your brow and makes you a lovely cup of tea before tucking you into bed, why not get paid to move elsewhere?
“Switching takes just seven working days, the new bank closes your old account and moves all direct debits, standing orders and payments – for the vast majority (76 per cent in my last Twitter poll) it’s a simple process.”
Best UK bank account
Martin said: “For the first time since 2009, NatWest has started to offer a switching bonus on most of its current accounts.
“The headline among those is the NatWestReward account where for £2 per month fee an ongoing 2 per cent cashback on your household bills you pay via direct debit from it, including council tax, water, gas and electricity, digital TV and broadband.
“So if you’ve bills of over £415 per month you’ll earn over £200 in the first year after the fee.
“If you pay less in bills, it may work out better to switch to HSBC’s Advance account which gives you an upfront £150 and another £50 after a year.
“It also has a five per cent linked regular savings account you can put up to £250 per month in.
“For both accounts you’ll be credit scored, and you’ll need to log into online/mobile banking.
“You also need to pay in a minimum £1,500 (NatWest) and £1,750 (HSBC) but that’s just a way of paying your salary in there (£21,500/yr NatWest) and (£26,100/y HSBC).
“Yet as there are other players – do look at the full list of top pick accounts.”
Martin Lewis revealed a trick to save £33,000 on your mortgage repayment on the Martin Lewis Money show.
The advice was given as part of his show, The Martin Lewis Money Show, which airs on ITV.
He explained this was for most people better than keeping money in savings where it earns no interest.
“Most mortgages will let you overpay up to 10 per cent of what you owe,” he explained.