Most UK switch bonuses want two or three active direct debits. NatWest wants none, and Santander only counts household bills. Which bank wants what.
9 Sep 2026 · 4 min read
You can switch without them. The Current Account Switch Service will move an account with no direct debits at all. But most banks won’t pay the bonus unless the switch brings some, because they are paying for a customer whose bills move across.
The number is usually two, sometimes three. People lose the bonus over what counts as one and when it has to exist.
How many, bank by bank
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HSBC, first direct, Nationwide and Santander want two. first direct also accepts standing orders.
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Lloyds and Barclays want three.
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NatWest wants none at all.
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The bank sets the count and changes it with each offer, so check the terms on the day you switch.
When they have to be running
HSBC, first direct, Nationwide, Lloyds and Barclays want the debits to arrive with the switch. They have to be collecting on the account you’re switching away from already, so the switch service carries them across. Debits you set up after the switch don’t count.
Santander works the other way round. It checks that two are active on the new account by the time it assesses you, so setting them up afterwards is fine.
A direct debit counts once a payment has left. Bacs takes about a week to take the first one.
What counts as a direct debit
Usually anything genuine, such as a phone bill, a charity donation or a subscription. Use two different billers, because some banks reject a pair that look identical.
Santander counts household direct debits only. That means council tax, water, gas, electricity, broadband, home or mobile phone, and paid-for TV. Subscriptions, insurance and debits that fund a Santander savings account don’t count there.
What we do about it
If you already pay bills by direct debit, switch the account they’re on and they move with it.
If you don’t, and a spare account with nothing running on it is the usual case, you need something small and real. Our app can set up a £2 a month direct debit for each one an offer needs, or you can point it at any debit of your own. The step says which. It won’t offer ours at Santander, because ours is a subscription and Santander wouldn’t count it.