You need to know an existing customer to get the refer-a-friend bonus.
The Co-operative Bank has boosted its refer-a-friend switching deal from £50 to £125. Here’s how it works.
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How much can you get for switching to Co-op Bank?
This offer is for £125 when you switch using your friend’s account details. The friend who refered you will also get £125.
Who can get the Co-op switching offer?
To get this offer you need to be referred by a friend who has an account with Co-op already and you need to not already have an account with the bank.
You can only get one bonus per person, regardless of whether you have more than one solo or any extra joint accounts.
You’ll also only get one payment per joint account, not one each. So if two of you want the cash you’re better off opening two new individual accounts.
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What are the requirements for the Co-operative Bank switching offer?
To get the £125 you’ll need to
- Not already have a current account with Co-operative Bank
- Open either a Co-operative Bank Current Account or Everyday Extra account
As with most switching deals, you need to use the Current Account Switching Service to move over an account from a different bank.
The switch doesn’t have any further conditions, so there’s no need to have any direct debits set up or deposit a set sum of money into the new account.
However, once the switch date is set, you then need to fill in the referral claim form, found on the Co-op Bank website or in a branch. For this you’ll need:
- First and last name of the person referring you
- Their email address
- Their Co-operative Bank sort code
- Their Co-operative Bank account number
This must be done within 14 days of the offer closing date.
When will the money be paid?
As long as you meet the criteria, you’ll get the cash paid into your account within 60 days of the switch completion.
When will the offer end?
Though at the start there was no end date published, it’s been announced that the offer will expire on 28 February 2023. This is the last date to start the switching process. You still have 14 days from them to submit the referral form.
How many times can you refer a friend?
There’s no limit to how many times others can use your details to switch. And you’ll get £125 for each one.
Co-op switching summary
| Switching bonus | £125 |
| Bonus paid | Within 60 days of switch completion |
| Referral bonus | £125 |
| Open to existing customers | No |
| Requirements | Open up either a Standard or Everyday Extra current account |
| Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close old account | |
| Complete a referral form online or in branch with referrer’s details | |
| Exclusions | Not already have a Co-operative Bank current account |
| Offer limited to one welcome offer per person and account | |
| Offer ends | 28 February 2023 (last date to start a switch) |
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Is Co-operative Bank any good?
There are a couple of current accounts that will make you eligible for this offer: the Current Account and the Everyday Extra account.
The Current Account is a standard account that doesn’t do much. You can add on an extra called Everyday Rewards which could earn you £2.20 every month, but it requires four direct debits and 60 debit card transactions every month to get the full amount. Personally I wouldn’t bother.
The Everyday Extra account costs £15 a month and comes with insurance policies, though there are cheaper options out there. And that’s if you actually need a packaged account.
Co-operative Bank Current Account with Everyday Rewards
| Benefits | £1 credit each month |
| 2p cashback each time you use your debit card to a max of £1.20 a month | |
| Fee | None |
| Requirements | Pay in £800 a month |
| Pay out four Direct Debits a month | |
| Balance must remain above £0, or within arranged overdraft limit | |
| Opt for paperless statements | |
| Exclusions | You can only have Everyday Rewards on one account |
Is it worth switching to Co-op?
Andy’s analysis
If you’re switching for the first time you’ll probably find higher paying options out there, and I’d focus on these instead.
But if you’ve repeatedly switched then it’s unlikely you’ve had switching cash from Co-op so this is a great opportunity for extra money. However you will need to know an existing customer who can share their details with you – so that could be an obstacle.
Of course, there’s also the chance to earn money from this scheme by referring your friends. So there’s the potential to make more cash from this as you’ll get £125 for each person who does switch.
Co-operative Bank is regarded as one of the more ethical banks, though Nationwide and Triodos score higher in ratings from Ethical Consumer magazine.
Are there better switching offers?
If you’re a repeat switcher and aren’t planning to keep an account then this is one of the best. But if you plan to just switch once I’d actually look at other options which have added rewards or cashback.
These come and go, so here’s everything you need to know about all these and other different bank switching deals.
Opening a cashminder account and then switching my partners current account got us the 125 each after filling in refer a friend form. Offer over now but hopefully this helps people out if it comes back up 🙂
Earliest date for a switch to be completed is now 23 March, making it too late to claim the Referral Bonus. How annoying
Hard to believe that I opened an account on 11th December and was informed (online by the Coop) that the switch couldn’t go through until 2nd January 2023. Offer now closing on 16th and 14 days within which to confirm the switch. A little annoying, and to me unfair, that they were still advertising this offer without an end date, knowing I couldn’t meet their deadline. Also astonished that the 7 day switching process is taking 22 days (even allowing for bank holidays). Not a good first impression.
You can fill in the form once you have the account details, even if the switch hasn’t been completed
Thanks. It does state the word ‘after'(see below) in their T&C’s. I hope you’re correct, but it is rather misleading.
‘So you can both get your £125 payment, make sure they first follow the steps to qualify for the offer, and after the switch is complete that they remember to complete the referral form.’
This has now been added to the Co-op’s website – ‘Your friend fully completes a current account switch from another bank, and we receive their completed referral form by 20 January 2023.’
Thanks Chris
Unfortunately I don’t know anyone with a Coop bank account. Would there be anything stopping me from opening a new Coop current account and then immediately referring my wife? If she then switched her current account from another bank into Coop would we both get £125?
I’d like to know the answer to this as well please! Can anyone help?
I’m going to give this a go, nothing on terms and cons to suggest it wouldn’t work. I’ll post a reply on here if I have any joy