George Osborne promises to make it easier to move bank accounts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/04/george-osborne-easier-bank-accounts

Version 0 of 1.

The government has pledged to make it easier for customers to move their bank accounts and promised to make changes to the behind-the-scenes plumbing in the financial system to encourage competition between banks.

In a bid "to build a banking system that works for us all", the chancellor said that changes would be made so that new banks did not have to rely on existing banks to be able to move money around the system.

"Asking your rival to provide you with the essential services you need at a reasonable price is not a recipe for success," he said.

"I want new faces on the high street. I want upstart challengers offering new and better services that shake up the established players."

He also wants to make it easier for customers to move their accounts.

"From September this year, every customer of every bank in Britain will be able to switch their bank account from their existing bank to another one in seven days. All they will have to do is sign up to a new bank – and the rest will follow," said Osborne.

However, he is not demanding that banks make accounts portable in the same way as mobile phones, which can be switched from one provider to another, allowing the customer to keep the same number.