Thousands of bank customers have been warned to move their money as current accounts will be closed

A bank has warned customers that they should be aware of an upcoming major change that is expected to affect thousands of people.

Intelligent Finance is set to close all its current accounts this year, starting August 1. Those who have a savings account or mortgage with Intelligence Finance will not be affected by these changes, while if you have a non-ISA savings account with Intelligent Finance and your current account closes, any money you have will be automatically transferred.

If you only have a current or ISA account, your funds will be sent to you in the form of a check in the post, or you can contact Intelligent Finance and ask for your money to be transferred to another account. The bank has already started notifying its customers of the closure, and parent company Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed that all affected customers will be given two months’ notice before their current account is closed. The Mirror reports.

An Intelligent Finance spokesman said: “Our Intelligent Finance current account has not been available since 2009 and we have notified existing customers that we will no longer be offering it. There has been a lot of innovation in the current account market over the past decade, with more choice than ever before for everyday bank accounts, and we are reaching out to customers to let them know their options and next steps.”

If you want to switch to a new current account, you can use the free Current Account Switching Service (CASS) to do so. This will ensure that all your direct debits, standing orders and incoming payments are moved when you switch, saving you the hassle of doing it yourself manually.

Now could also be a good time to take advantage of bank switch offers, with up to £200 available to new customers from the major banks. NatWest pays new customers £200 when they switch bank accounts – and you can earn £36 a year in cash back too.

New HSBC customers can also get a £200 switch. The next highest offers are from First Direct, where you can win £175, and Lloyds, who are offering £150.

If you’re considering switching, remember that you’ll need to meet certain eligibility criteria to get these cash offers – usually this includes not having a current account with your chosen bank for a certain period of time. You may also need to pay a certain amount each month or transfer several direct debits.