How to switch business bank account: CASS, timings and what moves

The short answer

Most UK small businesses can switch bank account using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). It is free, run by Pay.UK, and backed by a guarantee that refunds any charges or interest caused by a failure in the switch.

The part people underestimate is what CASS does not move: payments tied to your old debit card, payout settings on platforms, Open Banking connections and the bank details printed on your invoices. Those are covered below, with a checklist at the end.

Who can use CASS

According to the service’s common questions for businesses, you can switch a business account “so long as you have an annual turnover that does not exceed £6.5 million and you employ fewer than 50 people”. Small trusts with a net asset value under £6.5 million can also use it. If you are unsure whether you qualify, the service says to ask your new bank.

Both banks must take part. CASS lists more than 50 participating UK banks and building societies on its provider list, including the high-street banks and several app-based business accounts. If either bank is not a participant, you cannot use the service and have to move payments manually.

CASS only covers sterling current accounts. It does not switch savings accounts, ISAs or non-sterling accounts. If you have a business savings account or a currency account, you will need to close or move it separately.

Step by step

1. Choose the new account. Compare fees, features and eligibility. Our best business bank accounts comparison and the cost calculator are a good start.
2. Open it. Opening and switching are separate. The new bank runs its own checks first. The documents guide lists what banks ask for, and CASS recommends asking the new bank which documents it needs before you start. Make sure your business details match what your old bank holds; if they do not, the switch can be held up until you update the old bank.
3. Request the switch and choose a date. You agree a switch date with the new bank, at least 7 working days away and not a weekend or bank holiday. You sign a Current Account Switch Agreement and a Current Account Closure Instruction, which the new bank provides.
4. Do not set up new payments on the old account. CASS moves payment arrangements that exist at your old bank up to 7 working days before the switch date. Anything you set up in that final window must be set up on the new account instead.
5. Switch date. Your balance moves across, the old account closes, and your regular payments run from the new account. You can use the old account up to the switch date.
6. Tidy up. Update card-on-file payments, payout settings, invoices and software connections, and download your old statements before you lose access.

You can cancel a switch up to 7 working days before the switch date by speaking to the new bank.

Picking a sensible switch date

Because you choose the date, choose one that avoids your busiest money days. Payroll day, the day a large customer usually pays, a VAT or Corporation Tax payment date and the end of your accounting period are all worth avoiding. A switch date in a quiet week makes it easier to spot anything that has not moved, and a date shortly after the start of a month means your old account’s final statement covers a short, simple period for your accountant. If you are switching near your year end, ask your accountant whether they would prefer the switch to fall just before or just after it.

What moves automatically

According to the service’s business switching guide, the new bank moves all your regular incoming and outgoing payments, including salaries, Direct Debits, standing orders and bills, along with your balance. Saved payee details move too.

• Direct Debits: HMRC, insurers, utilities, leases and anything else collecting by Direct Debit.
• Standing orders: rent, regular transfers to a director or a savings account.
• Incoming payments: bank transfers sent to your old sort code and account number are redirected to the new account.
• Saved payees: your list of suppliers and other payees.
• Your balance: transferred on the switch date.
• Refunds to your old debit card: sent to the new bank after the switch.

Redirection is the safety net. Each time a payment is redirected, the service sends an automatic message to the sender with your new account details so they can update their records. Do not rely on it as your plan, though: tell customers and payers yourself, so their records are right and your own reconciliation is clean.

What you must move yourself

These are the items that catch people out after a switch.

• Card-on-file payments. Software subscriptions, advertising accounts, domain renewals and suppliers that charge your old debit card have stored the card number, not your account number. When the old account closes, the card stops working and those payments fail. List every recurring card payment from your last few statements and update each one with the new card.
• Payment processor payouts. Stripe, PayPal, Square, SumUp, Etsy, Amazon and similar platforms pay out to the bank details you saved with them. Payouts to the old details may be redirected as bank payments, but update the payout account on each platform so you are not depending on redirection, and expect some platforms to re-verify the new account.
• Invoices and your website. Your invoice template, email signature, website and any standing customer forms still show the old details. Update them on the switch date. If you invoice from your bank, the Monzo Business invoicing guide shows how that works from the new account.
• Open Banking and software connections. CASS says third-party permissions, such as accounting software bank feeds and money management apps, are not switched. Reconnect your accounting software to the new account and keep the old feed until the final statement is imported.
• Overdrafts and lending. An overdraft does not move. Agree one with the new bank first or clear the old one before the switch date.
• Savings and currency accounts. Not covered by CASS. Move or close them separately.
• Payroll and bulk payment files. Salaries paid by standing order move, but if payroll software or a bureau sends payment files from your account, update the sending account details there.
• Old statements. Download them before the account closes. HMRC record-keeping rules mean you need them for years.

Full switch or keep both?

A CASS switch is a full switch: the old bank closes the old account, which is what makes redirection possible. If you want to keep the old account open, perhaps for an overdraft or a loan you are paying down, you cannot use the service and you are not covered by the guarantee. You would open the new account and move payments one by one yourself.

Some businesses do this deliberately and run two accounts for a while, for example keeping a high-street account for cash deposits and an app-based account for day-to-day spending. That can be sensible, but it is more work than a full switch and it means paying for two accounts if either charges a fee.

Switching checklist

1. Confirm both banks take part in CASS and that your turnover and headcount are within the limits.
2. Open the new account and order cards for anyone who needs one.
3. Agree any overdraft with the new bank, or plan to clear the old one.
4. Choose a switch date at least 7 working days away, on a working day.
5. Stop setting up new payments on the old account 7 working days before the switch date.
6. List every card-on-file subscription and supplier from recent statements.
7. On the switch date, update card-on-file payments with the new card.
8. Update payout details on Stripe, PayPal, Etsy and any other platform.
9. Update invoice templates, email signatures, your website and customer records.
10. Reconnect accounting software and other Open Banking apps to the new account.
11. Download and file all statements from the old account.
12. Move or close any savings or currency accounts at the old bank.

Switching to Monzo Business

Monzo Business supports CASS. Monzo’s features page lists switching in 7 working days via the Current Account Switch Service, and the service lists Monzo among its participating business providers. You open the Monzo Business account first, then request the switch. Monzo accepts sole traders and private limited companies (limited by shares), so a partnership or LLP would need a different bank.

One thing to check before switching a limited company: lending. Monzo’s overdraft page describes limited company overdrafts of £500 to £5,000 at a representative 35.9% EAR (variable), with an annual fee and a personal guarantee, but the same page also says Monzo does not offer overdrafts to limited companies. If your current account has an overdraft you rely on, check what Monzo offers in the app before you switch. The Monzo Business overdrafts and loans page sets out what is and is not available.

If you are switching to Monzo Business through our link, the £50 reward is only for people who have never opened a Monzo account before, of any kind, and who download the app, apply, add money and make a first card payment within 30 days. The switch itself does not affect that. The referral page explains the four steps, the step-by-step opening guide covers the application, and our current offers page lists other switching incentives we can verify this month.