Tesco Bank to close its current accounts

The bank has estimated only 12% of its current accounts are being used by customers as their primary account. It said most had ‘limited activity’ and others were being used for ‘other purposes, such as a savings pot’. The decision comes after the bank reported a GBP 175 million loss in April 2021, compared with a GBP 193 million profit in the previous 12 months.

The bank said all its 213,000 personal current accounts would cease to exist on 30 November 2021. It had closed its current accounts to new business in December 2019. Customers will receive a letter in August 2021 to inform them of their accounts closing. The bank would support customers to find ‘a suitable alternative dependent on their circumstances’.

Options include customers moving to a new current account provider via the Current Account Switching Service (CASS) or moving their balance to a Tesco Bank savings account. The bank said it had asked customers who choose not to switch to a new current account to move any regular incoming or outgoing payments to a different account, and to make sure their account has a balance of zero by 30 November.