Current Account and Overdraft Eligibility Checker Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2015

One of the main reasons there are low levels of customers switching personal current accounts is that customers have to go through a full application to find out what products they are eligible for with a new provider and they cannot see if they can get the same overdraft amount as they have with their current bank until after they applied and are credit scored. This credit scoring leaves a permanent record on their credit file. Lloyds Banking Group was the first bank in the UK to launch a Personal Current Account and Overdraft Eligibility Checker in July 2015 to address these issues. This tool performs a ‘soft’ credit search which doesn’t affect customers’ credit score and gives customers an indication of what accounts and overdraft they are likely to be eligible for without having to go through a full application. The new online eligibility tool is currently available on the Lloyds Bank and Halifax websites and is mobile optimised which enables people to check their eligibility for accounts anywhere and at any time. The tool is used by over 4,500 customers a week and the quality of applications we’re seeing from customers who used the Eligibility Checker is substantially better (+40%) when comparing it to results from customers who applied for a current account before the tool was available. This demonstrates how useful this tool is as it gives customers an indication whether it’s worth filling out a full application form and going through a full credit search.