(20 October 2015 – United Kingdom) The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) may force banks to make the process simpler for small businesses to switch if they are unhappy with their current bank or can receive a better deal elsewhere.
Although retail customer are able to easily change current accounts to a new bank in seven days, the process is more difficult for small businesses.
There are serious practical hurdles, however, which make it difficult for the CMA to simply order a change in the way banks behave. Factors affecting businesses ability to switch include charges on properties, legal barriers, asset finance arrangement and cash account overdrafts.
As such, the CMA may be more likely to tell banks to work harder to cut barriers to switching, or the agency could use the rest of its time investigating the market to come up with a more comprehensive arrangement.