Santander, Nationwide, NatWest customers being handed five free payments worth up to £880

Customers at five leading high street banks will wake up to five payments worth £880. Santander Edge is paying a free £150 to switch, while the First Direct 1st account pays £175, Nationwide FlexDirect pays £175 and NatWest Reward account pays £180.

The Club Lloyds account pays £200. Money Saving Expert says of NatWest: "The NatWest Reward account comes with a £2/month fee, but you get £5/month cashback when you pay in £1,250, pay out 2+ Direct Debits of £2+ and log into its mobile banking app each month. So the net gain is £3/month or £36/year.

"You also get access to NatWest's Digital Regular Saver which allows you to save up to £150/month, and pays 6.17% variable interest on up to £5,000. If you deposited the maximum amount each month for a year, you'd have £59.93 in interest."

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On Lloyds, it adds: "You can choose a reward each year including: 12 months' Disney+ (with ads), six cinema tickets, a Coffee Club & Gourmet Society membership, or a subscription to a magazine. Do note there's a £3/month fee unless you pay in £2,000+ a month.

"You also get access to a linked regular saver paying 6.25% fixed interest for a year on up to £400/month (maxed out, it's £150/year interest). Plus, there's a 0% overdraft on up to £50." First Direct's been top or near-top of every bank service poll MSE has ever run, it adds.

On Nationwide, it says: "Nationwide is offering a host of perks to newbies switching to its FlexDirect account. On top of the £175 free cash, there's 5% AER interest on current account balances up to £1,500 for a year (maxed out that's £75), 1% cashback for 12 months up to £5/month, plus a 0% overdraft on up to £50."

With Santander, MSE says the Edge debit card also has no foreign exchange fee when you spend abroad, so you get the same near-perfect exchange rate as the bank does.