Tesco Bank to close all customer current accounts later in the year

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Tesco Bank is closing all of its customer current accounts from the end of November and will write to those affected in the next two weeks to advise them on what to do.

The grocery giant’s banking arm launched its current accounts in 2014 with interest on balances and Clubcard spending points in a bid to win customers.

But the bank, which has more than 5 million customers across all of its services, closed current accounts to new business in 2019.

The retailer’s banking arm said there are 213,000 current accounts still open, estimating that only 12% of these are being used as a primary current account, according to The Guardian.

Affected customers will need to move their accounts to another provider or their balance to another Tesco Bank account.

Tesco Bank chief executive Gerry Mallon said the lender wanted to offer products that align with the needs of Tesco shoppers.

“With so few of our current account customers using it as their primary account, we want to support them to find a suitable alternative dependent on their circumstances,” he said.

“We will pay particular attention to supporting any vulnerable customers and those in need of financial assistance.”

The move follows a similar announcement by Marks & Spencer Bank, which plans to close its current account and monthly saving products in August.