Current account customers will be able to see exactly how much better off they could be by switching thanks to a Government-backed online comparison tool.
Available on price comparison website , the tool will give you a personally tailored view, based on your own banking history, of exactly how much cash you could save.
Customers of the big five banks - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander - will be able to use the free service initially - along with customers of Britain's biggest building society, Nationwide.
They will be able to compare all basic, packaged and standard accounts currently on the market, not just those being offered by the providers initially taking part in the scheme.
You need to log on to their own online banking and click on the midata button to download 12 months of your statements on to a file. To protect personal details, the file will not contain your name, address, sort code or full account number.
You will then need to upload the information on to 's website. You can also tell the website who you currently bank with, so you can see how your own provider ranks.
The tool will make more than 1,500 calculations, taking into account that person's overdraft charges and average in-credit balance, among other factors.
will then present you with a table, showing in pounds and pence which accounts could be better suited to you. The comparison can also break down the costs and benefits of that account, such as any interest or charges you are likely to incur. You can then switch if you want to.
To protect personal details, the file will not contain your name, address, sort code or full account number.
GoCompare has confirmed the file of bank statements will be purged at the end of the process. The data will not be used for any other reason than to carry out the calculations needed for comparison.
If your current account provider has not signed up to the initiative, you will not initially be able to use the service in full. But more banks are expected to come on board.
Around 65 million active personal accounts exist in the UK and efforts have already been made to make the switching process easier.
The new tool could shake up the market further by making it easier for up-and-coming challenger banks with smaller advertising budgets to get a foothold in the current account market.
Did you know some current accounts will pay you hundreds of pounds to switch? .