British banks agree to mobility

British banks have agreed in principle to European Union plans to make it easier for customers to switch current accounts from one bank to another.

The British Banks Association (BBA) said that while banks in the UK already facilitate transferring bank accounts and agree that easier mobility will give customers more choice, they oppose the principle of portability.

Whereas mobility suggests that customers can move from one bank to another, the idea behind portability is that customers make the transition with the same account number and details.

Chief executive of the BBA Angela Knight CBE, said that UK banks support any measures to give customers greater freedom and choice but enforcing portability across the EU would lead to less customer choice.

She added that having one bank account for a whole lifetime "also fails to take into account the way people want to bank – for example having one account for the bills and another for saving".

The UK’s Banking Code gives banks three days to transfer direct debits and standing order details to a new bank. According to a survey 453,100 more people moved their accounts in the six months to March than in the second half of 2007.

With some banks failing to pass on base rate increases, savings account holders have been urged to look for banks that will give them better deals.