Record 13,000 people moved their bank account to Monzo in Q3

Total number of people switching to digital banks Monzo and Starling jumped 60% last quarter.

Digital banks Monzo and Starling both saw the number of current account switches—people moving their primary salaried accounts—jump last quarter.

According to figures from Pay.UK, which runs the UK’s Current Account Switch Service, Monzo led the switching charge with net gains of 13,453 customer current accounts last quarter, up 84% from the 7,292 people who switched in Q2.

This huge increase can likely be attributed to Monzo’s high-profile TV and billboard marketing campaign, which kicked off in May and led to “insane” growth.

Starling meanwhile saw its net gains rise from 5,233 in Q2 to 6,686 in Q3, a figure which will likely soar in Q4 after the recent launch of the bank’s own TV ad campaign.

In total the Current Account Switch Service handled 227,754 switches during the quarter, with 8.8% or 20,139 going to digital challenger banks.

The service has now handled over 6m switches since it launched in 2013, with 975,571 in the last 12 months alone.

“Exceeding 6m switches is a substantial landmark, and it’s great to see that so many people have made use of the Current Account Switch Service to find a bank account that suits them better,” said Pay.UK COO Matthew Hunt.

“Our work brings the benefits of switching to everyone by making it simple and stress free, allowing people to switch to an account which better suits their needs, whatever their financial situation.”