British Bank Awards 2020 Winners

After a competitive voting process which saw over 40,000 customers share their feedback, last night the winners of the British Bank Awards 2020 with Headline Sponsor Yolt, were revealed in London.

Run by Smart Money People and now in their sixth year, the British Bank Awards have been described as ‘the Oscars of the banking world’ and an array of banking goliaths, FinTech titans, building societies, and service providers all gathered to see the results unfold.

And it’s fair to say, there were just a few surprises on the night!

And so, without any further ado, here are our 2020 Winners and Highly Commended firms:

2020 Winners

Best British Bank (sponsored by Yolt): Starling Bank

Innovation of the Year (sponsored by Yolt): Revolut

Treating Customers Fairly Champion: Darlington Building Society

Customer Service Champion: Triodos Bank

Best Newcomer (sponsored by Yolt): Countingup

Best Alternative Finance Provider (sponsored by Yolt): CapitalRise

Best Banking App: Monzo

Best Current Account Provider: Starling Bank

Best Business Finance Provider: Fleximize

Best Business Banking Provider: Starling Bank

Best Personal Finance App: Money Dashboard

Best FX Provider: WeSwap

Best Specialist Mortgage Provider: Monmouthshire Building Society

Best Mortgage Provider: NatWest

Best Specialist Mortgage Broker: International Private Finance

Best Mortgage Broker (sponsored by the Mortgage Lender Benchmark): Habito

Best Investments Provider: Wealthify

Best Savings Provider: Vernon Building Society

Consultancy of the Year: 11:FS

RegTech Partner of the Year: DueDil

Technology Partner of the Year: DPR

Marketing Partner of the Year: mark-making*

The Pioneer Award: ClearBank

Best Payment Service Provider: SumUp

Best Credit Card Provider: Virgin Money

Best Online Trading Platform: Freetrade

Best Personal Loan Provider: Zopa

Highly Commended

Customer Service Champion: Chip

Best Newcomer: Suits Me

Best Current Account Provider: Triodos Bank

Best Personal Finance App: Chip

Best FX Provider: Currencies Direct

Best Specialist Mortgage Provider: Newbury Building Society

Best Investments Provider: WiseAlpha

Best Savings Provider: Darlington Building Society

Consultancy of the Year: Capco

The Pioneer Award: 11:FS

Michael Fotis, founder of Smart Money People said, “Once again, the voting process has thrown up a few surprises! But whether our winner is a household name with millions of customers or a niche provider, they've all demonstrated exceptional levels of customer satisfaction. As we move into an uncertain few months, it's a timely reminder of the commitment many financial firms have to delivering good customer outcomes."

Challenger bank Starling Bank took home three awards on the night, 'Best Current Account Provider', 'Best Business Banking Provider' and ‘Best British Bank.’ Anne Boden, founder and CEO of Starling Bank said, “Our continued focus on the customer is what drives us and we’re proud to continue to be the Best British Bank, providing current and business accounts and great offerings such as our marketplace, competitive foreign currency rates and forward-thinking mobile banking. A big thank you to all who voted for us.”

Sustainable banking leader Triodos Bank, which only launched its current account proposition in 2017, was announced as the ‘Best British Bank’ runner-up. Triodos Bank also took home the ‘Customer Service Champion’ award and was highly commended for its current account product. Bevis Watts, CEO of Triodos Bank said, “In these times of increased awareness around climate change and social inequality, our commitment to use money to positively influence these issues has never felt more relevant. We simply couldn’t have the impact that we do without our customers, so to win this award voted for by them is a significant honour. We’re celebrating 25 years of operating in the UK this year, and hope to inspire more people to demand that banks use their money to be a force for good by making sure that is invested sustainably and with social purpose.”

The voting process once again proved to be favourable for the UK’s building society sector, with the awards for ‘Best Savings Provider’ and ‘Best Specialist Mortgage Provider’ awarded to regional building societies. Despite a very competitive voting process, a number of firms proved to have an ironclad grip over their categories. Firms including Virgin Money, 'Best Credit Card Provider' and Zopa 'Best Personal Loan Provider' were able to retain their categories for a fourth straight year.

Alongside the list of winners, today we’re publishing our Banking League Table 2020 which rounds-up the customer satisfaction scores seen across Smart Money People in the past 12 months.

About the British Bank Awards

Launched in 2014, the British Bank Awards aim to find the best products, hottest innovation and most trusted financial brands and are voted for by customers. They have been featured widely in the press, including The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Express, The Mirror, The Scotsman and The Spectator, alongside trade press such Finextra and AltFi. The awards are run by Smart Money People, the UK’s financial services review and research website.