Best banks for customer satisfaction named - where does yours rank?

2023 vs 2026: Banking Evolution

The UK banking landscape has shifted significantly between 2023 and 2026. While digital "neobanks" dominated both years, the gap between traditional high-street banks and their digital counterparts has evolved, and new players have disrupted the leaderboard.

1. Personal Banking: The Rise of Chase

In 2023, the top tier was a two-horse race between Monzo and Starling Bank. By 2026, Chase has firmly established itself as a major contender, climbing from a new entrant to tying for 2nd place with Starling.

The "Satisfaction Ceiling": Monzo has remained incredibly consistent, holding an 80% recommendation rate in both 2023 and 2026.

The Bottom of the Table: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has seen its scores stagnate or dip, falling from 48% in 2023 to 46% in 2026, widening the gap between the "best" and "worst" providers to a staggering 34 percentage points.

2. Business Banking: The "Mettle" Effect

The most dramatic change occurred in the business sector. In 2023, the rankings were dominated by independent digital banks like Monzo, Starling, and Tide. By 2026, the traditional banking groups proved they could compete through digital spin-offs.

Traditional Banks Strike Back: In 2023, NatWest sat in the middle of the pack. By 2026, its digital-only business arm, Mettle, debuted in the #2 spot with an 82% satisfaction rating, outperforming Starling Bank.

The Struggle for Legacy Brands: The Co-operative Bank and HSBC have struggled to modernize their business perceptions. The Co-operative Bank, which held a 45% rating in 2023, has dropped to 43% in 2026, now sitting at the bottom of a more crowded field of 17 providers.

2026 Banking Winners and Losers

Monzo continues to hold the top spot in both personal and business current account categories for Great Britain, maintaining its reputation for high customer satisfaction.

In the personal banking category, Chase and Starling Bank are now tied for second place.

For business accounts, the leaderboard has seen a significant shift: NatWest's digital-only brand, Mettle, has debuted in second place, pushing Starling Bank into the third-place spot.

At the bottom of the rankings, Royal Bank of Scotland remains the least-recommended personal current account provider in Great Britain (17th), followed by Virgin Money (16th) and The Co-operative Bank (15th).

The business banking sector tells a similar story for traditional lenders; The Co-operative Bank now sits at the bottom of the 17-bank survey, with Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC UK also trailing significantly behind the digital challengers.

The results "put pressure on poorly performing banks to raise their game", the CMA said.

This year’s results are more robust than ever, with 23,000 people surveyed about their personal current accounts and an additional 23,000 business customers questioned regarding their satisfaction with business banking services across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The CMA has published these independent rankings every six months for over seven years as part of the Retail Banking Order, helping customers compare the quality of service between providers. The pool of ranked banks in Great Britain has grown to 17 providers (up from 15 in previous years), with newer entrants like Chase now featuring prominently at the top.

In the most recent results for Great Britain, Monzo maintained its lead with an 80% satisfaction rating. At the opposite end of the scale, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remained in last place (17th) with a recommendation score of 46%, while Virgin Money followed closely behind in 16th place with a score of 49%.

Adam Land, a senior director at the CMA, said: "How banks treat their customers can make an enormous difference to their daily lives, particularly when people and small businesses are feeling the pinch.

“These results make it easy for people to see in branch, or at the click of a button, which banks are listening to their customers and meeting their needs. This puts pressure on poorly performing banks to raise their game. If the service and quality offered by your bank has been below par, then you may well be able to do better by making a switch.”

Monzo, which has eight million customers, is an app-only bank which has proved popular with people wanting to easily track their spending. It features services including splitting your salary into pots such as bills and savings, as well as offering easy-access savings pots.

However, account switching customers have plummeted from 63,000 in 2019, to -2,079 in 2022, according to This Is Money.

Commenting on its satisfaction survey results, its vice president of operations, Lyndsey Edgar, said Monzo keeps customers "at the heart of everything we do".

RBS admitted it could "do more" to improve customer experience in certain parts of its service.

A spokesperson added: “We’re investing in dedicated teams focused on making targeted improvements for customers in order to address the areas where our service falls short of expectations.”

A spokesperson for Virgin Money said: “We remain determined to give customers the best products, rates and services to allow customers to make the most of their money.”

Best and worst personal current account providers*

Key Changes in the 2026 Update:

The Top Tier: Monzo maintains its #1 position, but Chase has climbed rapidly to tie with Starling Bank for the #2 spot.

The Bottom Tier: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remains the lowest-ranked provider at 17th place. Virgin Money and The Co-operative Bank continue to struggle at the bottom of the table.

Improved Scores: Traditional "Big Four" brands like Nationwide and Halifax have seen slight improvements in their recommendation percentages compared to previous years, though they still trail the digital-first "challenger" banks.

Sample Size: These results are based on an extensive survey of approximately 23,000 customers across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

*How likely customers asked would be to recommend their personal current account provider to friends and family. Source: Ipsos

Best and worst business bank account providers*

*How likely customers asked would be to recommend their business current account provider to another business. Source: IPSOS

Read more: