Choosing the right bank to open a new bank account can be an intimidating task. It’s also difficult to decide on which bank is truly the best because customers’ experience may vary.
In this article, we gathered some information that could give you a bigger picture of how these banks compare to one another.
We’ve considered different factors that contribute to a bank's overall rating including their total assets, the number of customers, monthly fees, customer satisfaction (based on comments on Trustpilot), and the key features of that bank.
With this information, we hope to help you decide which bank will best fit your needs.
All information provided below is dated February 15th, 2023, and may have been updated since.
The Nationwide Building Society
The Nationwide Building Society is headquartered in Swindon, England.
The largest building society in the world can trace its roots all the way back to 1846, but it has not remained stuck in the past.
It has over 15 million members and is the largest building society in the world.
A building society is an institution owned and run by its members, not shareholders.
Its size is the result of over one hundred mergers.
The stability and size of Nationwide certainly help its reputation.
It offers a wide array of services with accounts, mortgages, loans, and credit cards.
About The Nationwide Building Society
- Total Assets: 272.4 billion GBP
- Trustpilot Customer Rating: 1.8/5 (3,645 reviews)
- Employment: Over 13,000 employees
- Customer Base: 16.3 million customers
Key Features
✅ Bank Accounts: For personal and business
✅ Only Business Savings Account, no current account
✅ Online banking
✅ Contactless VISA card
✅ Usually better rates on savings accounts compared to banks
✅ No opening fee and GBP0-13 per month
Lloyds Bank
A British retail and business bank, Lloyds Bank has locations all over England and Wales.
Historically, it has been regarded as one of the "Big Four" clearing banks and the largest retail bank in the United Kingdom.
They also have a deal that allows its customers to be served by Halifax locations in Northern Ireland and Bank of Scotland locations in Scotland.
There were 16 million accounts for both small businesses and individuals as of 2012.
The bank started expanding internationally in 1911, and by 1985, it had representative banking offices in 45 nations, ranging from Argentina to the United States of America.
About Lloyds Bank
- Total Assets: 886.5 billion GBP
- Trustpilot Customer Rating: 1.6/5 (3,402 reviews)
- Employment: 58,000 employees
- Customer base: 26 million customers
Key Features
✅ Bank Accounts: For personal and business
✅ Current account & Savings account for both personal and business customers
✅ Online banking
✅ Contactless VISA card
✅ Strong presence in retail banking
✅ No fee on opening and GBP0-24 monthly fee
HSBC UK
HSBC UK is one of the four major clearing banks in the United Kingdom. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, which is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.
The headquarters of HSBC in the UK is located at One Centenary Square in Birmingham and was founded in 1865 during the then-British colony of British Hong Kong.
Through its global businesses Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking & Markets, HSBC serves 40 million customers worldwide.
HSBC has a brand name that is recognized all over the world and covers the banking needs of a large variety of customers.
About HSBC UK
- Total Assets: 2.992 trillion for Sept. 30, 2022
- Trustpilot Customer Rating: 1.4/5 (7,398 reviews)
- Employment: 219,000 employees
- Customer Base: 40 million
Key Features
✅ Bank Accounts: For personal and business
✅ Multi-currency account supporting 14 currencies for personal and business customers
✅ Online banking
✅ Contactless VISA and Mastercard
✅ International brand recognition
✅ No opening and monthly fee for personal customers
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
The Royal Bank of Scotland is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland.
It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank.
The Royal Bank has around 700 branches, mostly in Scotland, though there are branches in many larger towns and cities throughout England and Wales.
They offer a full range of banking and insurance services, including traditional branches, phone and internet banking, and 'mobile branches'.
They were launched in 1946 and currently, 19 mobile branches exist. The mobile branches are specially equipped vans that travel to rural areas to provide banking services outside of the main cities.
About RBS
- Total Assets: 782 billion GBP
- Trustpilot Customer Rating: 1.3/5 (706 reviews)
- Employment: Over 71,000 employees
- Customer base: 19 million customers
Key Features
✅ Bank Accounts: For personal and business
✅ Current accounts & Savings accounts for personal customers
✅ Online banking
✅ Contactless Mastercard debit card
✅ Technologically advanced banking infrastructure
✅ No opening and GBP0-31 monthly fee
Barclays
The bank's history goes all the way back to 1690.
The original Barclays came from two "goldsmith" bankers, whose business depended on their personal reputation.
Their name comes from one of the first partners they took on, and it's been a famous name in UK banking for over 300 years.
Barclays has over 4,750 branches in about 55 countries of which 1,600 are located in the United Kingdom. The company also offers some personal banking services through Post Office branches.
It offers a full range of personal financial services including wealth management and investment banking.
About Barclays
- Total Assets: 1.384 trillion GBP
- Trustpilot Customer Rating: 1.4/5 (8,069 reviews)
- Employment: Over 81,800 employees
- Customer base: 48 million customers
Key Features
✅ Bank Accounts: For personal and business
✅ Current accounts & Savings accounts for both personal and business customers
✅ Online banking
✅ Contactless VISA and Mastercard
✅ Large international network
✅ No opening and GBP0-20 (waivable) monthly fee
Alternatives to Traditional Banking
These days traditional banks are facing a digitally fluent audience who would prefer a digital engagement experience with their banking needs than a traditional experience.
Rather than physically visiting a branch to access their bank account, they would rather prefer an online or mobile banking experience. This goes for both personal and commercial banking.
Over the last two decades, we have seen dramatic changes in the way financial services are delivered thanks to the advent of fintech.
In fact, the UK is considered one of the leading global fintech hubs. Just in 2022, there were around 2,500 fintech companies in Britain.
In trying to choose a fintech solution, you may wonder which one to go for. To help you know more about some of these options, we've created some reviews of business accounts and personal accounts located in the UK.
FAQs
What are the best banks in the UK?
Barclays, Lloyds Bank, HSBC UK, The Nationwide Building Society, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
How big is the banking system in the UK?
What are the branches of the UK banking system?
Which bank is the largest in the UK
