For businesses and consumers alike, the value of finding the right financial provider cannot be overstated. There are several factors that determine which current accounts might best suit our needs, from bigger overdraft facilities to better online services, from rewards and incentives to a more localised, personal service. However, comparing these different offerings is about to become easier.

Consumers and businesses will now have access to more information than ever before about the services offered by current account providers. This is because banks, building societies and regulators have worked together to develop comprehensive information about the quality of service offered. This includes how and when customers can contact them about a variety of issues, and their current account ranks for performance.

How it works
Current account providers are ranked according to existing customers? willingness to recommend a provider to friends and family or to SMEs, based on factors such as their overall service quality and their online, mobile, lending and branch services. Individual financial providers will display the 'top five? details on their websites and in branches, as well as their own ranking if it doesn't feature. They will also now publish additional information on the help available to customers, the ability to undertake actions through different channels, operational and security incidents and complaints data, highlighting the key support they offer personal and business current account customers.

How it will help consumers
By giving consumers more information about the service personal current account providers offer, it helps encourage customers to shop around and find the best account to suit their needs. It will also assist in continuing to drive up service standards across the board.

As part of the finance industry's commitment to help customers in vulnerable circumstances, providers have also pledged to go further by promoting specific information on the services available to them. This voluntary commitment will help support customers that fall within the four FCA-designated categories of potential vulnerability - health, financial resilience, financial capability, life events - and help them and their families select the right accounts.

How it will help SMEs
Having the right financial partners and finance providers is critical to the success of a business. The new information published today includes ratings on service through business centres and relationship management, helping businesses to choose the right facilities and promoting higher standards across the market.

In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is requiring firms to publish objective measures of service performance. It ?want(s) to make it easier for customers to access and assess information about providers? service, enabling them to make informed comparisons and choose the provider that best suits their needs?.

UK Finance has worked with both the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and FCA in delivering these requirements. The new data will also be made available to aggregators and comparison websites through a new application programme interface (API) designed and delivered as part of the Open Banking initiative. When combined with bank reference data detailing the nature of services, branch locations and terms and conditions and with pricing information, customers will be able to make a rounded comparison of offers available across the marketplace