Switching a business current account with CASS
Eligible small businesses can use the Current Account Switch Service to move a current account between participating providers. The service can move payment arrangements and close the old current account on the agreed switch date, but it does not move every piece of business infrastructure or guarantee replacement borrowing.
For CASS business eligibility, the business must generally have annual turnover of no more than £6.5 million and fewer than 50 employees; small trusts can also qualify under the service’s criteria. Treat the seven-working-day switch as the banking move, then separately check payroll, card acquiring, accounting feeds, payment approvals and any overdraft.
Confirm CASS eligibility and what the switch will not move
The Current Account Switch Service says a business can use the service if annual turnover does not exceed £6.5 million and it employs fewer than 50 people. The old and new providers must participate in CASS for the relevant accounts. A business outside those limits may still be able to change banks, but it would need a different migration process.
Confirm eligibility before telling suppliers or staff that the move is automatic. Also check whether you are performing a full switch or using another transfer process. The CASS Guarantee applies to qualifying full switches through participating providers; a manual move is not the same thing.
Confirm that both old and new accounts are eligible for the business switching service and identify what will not move automatically. List cards, payroll, merchant settlements, accounting feeds, finance payments, online marketplaces and any customer instructions that refer to the old account details.
Operational checkpoint: turn switching a business current account with CASS into a short responsibility table. Record who owns the task, which account or legal entity it relates to, the deadline, evidence needed and the person who approves completion. Use a sample amount such as £2,734 where money flow matters. Then test the process after the change - one incoming payment, one outgoing payment or one access request - instead of assuming an email confirmation means every linked service now works.
Prepare payments, cards and payroll for the changeover
CASS is designed to move the current account and payment arrangements, but your business may have systems outside the bank. Accounting software, expense cards, payment gateways, merchant acquiring, payroll files, finance agreements and API connections may still contain the old account details or require re-authorisation.
Create a dependency list before choosing the switch date. A small employer should check the payroll submission calendar, PAYE or VAT payment dates, major supplier Direct Debits and customer collection dates. Switching in a quiet week is very different from switching two days before payroll or a large tax payment.
CASS advises that new payment arrangements set up at the old bank within the seven working days leading up to the agreed switch date will not automatically be transferred. Set those up on the new account instead. That detail is easy to miss when staff continue using the old banking screen until the last moment.
Give the finance team a clear cut-off. For example, from Monday the 7th, no new standing orders or recurring instructions are created on the old account if the switch is due the following week. A small process rule can prevent a payment from being stranded in the account that is about to close.
Build a switch calendar around the change date. Avoid setting up new payment arrangements at the old bank late in the process, and tell staff which account should receive new customer payments. If monthly payroll is due during the switch week, test the new payment file or approval process before the deadline.
Deal with overdrafts and records before the old account closes
An overdrawn eligible business can potentially use CASS, but the new bank does not inherit the old overdraft automatically. It must make its own credit decision. If the old account is £12,000 overdrawn and the new bank approves only £5,000, the business needs a plan for the remaining borrowing before the switch completes.
Arrange that funding early. The alternatives may include a smaller new overdraft plus cash repayment, a separate loan or another agreed facility. Do not discover on switch week that the old bank expects repayment of borrowing that the new provider has not replaced.
Bank statements may remain obtainable after a switch, but do not rely on convenient online access continuing in exactly the same way. Download the statements, interest certificates, fee reports and payment records you need for accounting, tax, grant or audit purposes before the old login becomes inconvenient or unavailable.
Also record the old and new account details, the agreed switch date and any customer communications. If a payment is later disputed, you want to be able to prove which account should have been used on that date and whether redirection under CASS should have applied.
Treat overdraft or credit facilities as separate decisions. A switch does not mean the new bank must reproduce the old borrowing limit. Download statements and tax records before closure, and preserve the audit trail needed to explain transactions that later appear in accounts or VAT records.
Test the new account before declaring the switch complete
After the switch, verify the practical flows: a customer receipt, a supplier payment, payroll, Direct Debits, card settlements and accounting feeds. The fact that the bank says the switch is complete does not prove that every external system is correctly mapped.
Keep the CASS Guarantee details. If a switch error causes charges or interest, the Guarantee sets out the participating provider’s responsibilities. Report problems with dates and transaction evidence rather than a general complaint that the switch “went wrong”.
How long does a CASS business switch take?
The standard full switch is designed around seven working days once the switch date is agreed, subject to eligibility and the providers participating in CASS.
Can a business use CASS if it is overdrawn?
Yes, potentially, but any replacement overdraft must be agreed separately with the new bank or the old borrowing must be repaid by another arrangement.
Will old business bank statements automatically move to the new bank?
Do not assume so. Download the records you need before the switch and ask both providers how historical statements can be accessed afterwards.
After the switch, test incoming and outgoing payments rather than assuming completion messages prove every dependency works. Reconcile the first customer receipts, payroll, Direct Debits and card settlements. Keep the old-account closure confirmation and the switch reference in case a payment is misdirected later.
Sources and verification
Oliver Grant - Markets & Regulation Writer
I would treat a business bank switch as an operational migration, even though CASS automates the core current-account movement. Before the date is booked, I would make a list of everything that depends on the old account: customer receipts, Direct Debits, payroll, merchant settlements, accounting feeds, payment approvals, cards and any overdraft. Then I would mark which items CASS moves and which need manual work. I would download historical statements early because they do not migrate with the account. I would also compare the new bank on post-promotion pricing rather than the switching incentive alone. The most important financing question is the overdraft: a switch does not guarantee replacement borrowing, so I would settle that before the old account is scheduled to close. During the seven-working-day window I would avoid creating new arrangements on the old account unless the bank confirms how they will be handled. Finally, I would reconcile the first month after the move more closely than normal. CASS is designed to make switching easier and provides a Guarantee, but a business still has responsibility for its connected systems and counterparties. A good switch is one where customers and suppliers barely notice that anything changed.
MyBankAnswers uses official provider and UK regulatory sources wherever practical. Information is general and does not constitute financial advice.