How to Switch Business Bank Account UK: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide
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Switching Is Easier Than It Was, With Two Catches
Most UK small businesses can move bank account in seven working days without touching a direct debit themselves. The Current Account Switch Service does the work and guarantees the outcome.
The two catches are worth knowing before you start. Not every business qualifies, and a full switch closes your old account, which rules out the common advice to keep the old one running for a month or two. This guide covers what the service does, who it covers, what it does not move, and how to time a switch so it does not collide with payroll or a VAT deadline.
What the Current Account Switch Service Does
CASS is a free scheme run by Pay.UK and offered by more than 50 banks and building societies. Your new bank does the work.
Over the seven working days, your new provider contacts your old bank, obtains the list of direct debits, standing orders and regular incoming payments from the last 13 months, sets them up on the new account, transfers your balance on the switch date, and closes the old account. Payments that keep arriving at the old details are redirected to the new account for a minimum of three years, and each redirection sends an automatic message to the payer with your new details.
If something goes wrong as a direct result of the switch, the Current Account Switch Guarantee covers you, including refunds of any charges or interest incurred.
Who Qualifies
CASS is not open to every business. To use it you need an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than £6.5 million and fewer than 50 employees. Small charities with income under £6.5 million and small trusts with net assets under £6.5 million also qualify.
Above those limits you can still move, but through a partial switch rather than the guaranteed service.
Your Old Account Closes
This is the part that trips people up. A full CASS switch ends with the old account closed on the switch date. You cannot use it to run two accounts in parallel for a few weeks.
If you want the old account open, either do a partial switch or handle the move manually. Both are legitimate; neither carries the guarantee.
One timing quirk: CASS handles payment arrangements at the old bank up until seven working days before your switch date. Anything you want to set up during that final week needs to be created on the new account.
Full Switch, Partial Switch or Manual
| Route | Guarantee | Old account | Redirection | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full CASS switch | Yes | Closed on switch date | Minimum three years | Both providers participate and you qualify |
| Partial switch | No | Stays open | None | You want to keep the old account, or you are above the CASS size limits |
| Manual switch | No | Your choice | None | One or both providers are outside CASS |
A partial switch moves some or all of your regular payments while leaving the old account open. It takes longer than seven working days, varies by bank, and sits outside the guarantee.
Which Providers Are Covered
Most high-street and licensed challenger banks participate, and the current list is published on the CASS website. Two points matter more than the list itself.
First, electronic money institutions sit outside CASS. Wise Business holds an e-money licence rather than a banking licence, so moving to or from it is a manual exercise with no redirection and no guarantee.
Second, participation can differ by account type. Revolut became a licensed UK bank in March 2026, but a provider can support switching on personal accounts and not on business ones, so confirm with both providers before assuming an automated switch is available for your specific account.
While you are checking, it is worth knowing where your money sits either way. Eligible deposits at a licensed bank are FSCS-protected up to £120,000 per banking licence, a limit that rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025. Money held with an EMI is safeguarded in segregated accounts instead, which is meaningful protection but not the statutory guarantee.
Step by Step
1. Open the New Account First
Nothing starts until the new account exists and is active. Digital providers can take days, traditional banks longer. When comparing, look at monthly fees and transaction charges, accounting software integration, deposit protection, overdraft availability and multi-user access for your bookkeeper.
If you have an overdraft, ask directly whether the new bank will match it. Facilities do not transfer automatically, and discovering that after the switch is an unpleasant surprise.
2. Map Everything Linked to the Old Account
The step people rush. Export or screenshot every direct debit and standing order, with recipient, amount and frequency. Under CASS these move for you, but you still want the list to check against afterwards.
Then the things CASS does not move:
- Card payments on file. Software subscriptions, fuel cards and trade accounts charged to your business debit card are continuous payment authorities, not direct debits. Each one has to be updated in the supplier’s own system.
- Incoming payments. Update invoice templates in your accounting software, outstanding invoices, recurring billing arrangements, your website if it lists details, and payout destinations for Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal and any marketplace you sell through.
- Merchant services. Card machine and online acquiring settlements point at a specific account. Update them directly.
- Savings accounts, loans and finance agreements. These are separate products and stay where they are.
3. Tell HMRC, and Check It Landed
Direct debits for VAT, PAYE, corporation tax and Self Assessment are set up through your HMRC online account, and HMRC’s VAT direct debit in particular can need re-establishing rather than simply transferring.
Do not assume a CASS switch has handled it. Log in, check each tax type separately, and allow several working days before the next payment falls due. If there is any doubt, make that payment manually.
If you have a Time to Pay arrangement, update the bank details on it too.
4. Reconnect Your Accounting Software
Your bank feed will break. Disconnect the old connection, connect the new account through open banking, and check nothing fell down the gap during the changeover, importing a statement for the transition period if needed.
If you use the software for MTD submissions, do this well before a VAT or quarterly update deadline rather than the week of one.
5. Time It Around Payroll and Tax
Payroll. If you pay staff by Bacs, your payroll provider or bureau needs the new sort code and account number in place ahead of the submission deadline, which sits days before payday. A last-minute change can delay wages, and paying employees late is a problem you cannot fix retrospectively.
VAT. Avoid switching in the week a VAT payment is due, and check the direct debit afterwards.
Corporation tax and Self Assessment. Make any imminent payment before the switch or manually from the new account with the correct reference.
6. After the Switch
Under CASS the old account is already closed, so the job is verification: confirm every direct debit and standing order is running from the new account, that clients are paying into it, that the bank feed is working, and that HMRC has the right details.
On a manual or partial switch, keep the old account open for a month or two, since nothing is being redirected for you.
FAQ
Does CASS cover every business account?
No. You need turnover or a balance sheet total of £6.5 million or less and fewer than 50 employees, and both providers must participate. EMI accounts such as Wise sit outside the service entirely.
How long does it take?
A full CASS switch completes in seven working days from your chosen date. A manual switch depends on how fast you update everyone, and two to four weeks is realistic before it feels settled.
Can I keep my old account open?
Not with a full CASS switch, which closes it. Use a partial switch or move manually if you want both accounts running.
Will switching affect my credit rating?
Opening a business account may involve a credit check, which can leave a footprint. The switch itself is unlikely to matter much. Ask the new provider what kind of check they run before applying.
Do I need to tell HMRC?
Yes. Update direct debit details for each tax through your HMRC online account and check them individually. Do not assume the switch service has done it.
What happens to payments sent to the old account afterwards?
Under CASS they are redirected for at least three years, and the payer is told your new details automatically. Outside CASS, they bounce, which is why a manual switch needs a proper notification round.
How to Switch Business Bank Account: The Bottom Line
For most small businesses the process is genuinely straightforward: open the new account, initiate the switch with your new bank, and let the seven-day process run. The guarantee covers the mechanics, and redirection covers the clients who never update their records.
What the service does not do is update the card payments sitting with your suppliers, your invoice templates, your merchant services or HMRC. That list is yours, and it is the part worth an hour with a spreadsheet before you start.
And decide early whether you need the old account to stay open, because a full CASS switch takes that choice away.
This article is general information about UK business banking and tax administration, not advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Scheme rules, eligibility and provider participation change. Confirm the current position with both providers and on GOV.UK, and speak to a qualified accountant about anything affecting your tax payments.