How To Earn Money From Banking App Sign-ups (UK)
By Daniel Sanderson12 Dec 2025 · 12 min read
Earning money from banking apps comes in many shapes and sizes, with Quidsy. You can earn money from banking app sign-ups in the UK through five main methods: sign-up bonuses, bank switching offers, the Quidsy Pool, Quidsy Friends and traditional referral programmes.
In total, you can realistically make £1,000+ in cash profit from banking apps in the UK. And what's best, most sign-up bonuses take less than 15 minutes to complete and often pay out within days.
Here's a quick breakdown of what's available right now on Quidsy:
Banking App Sign-Ups — 7 offers, £52 total, 10-15 mins each
Bank Switching — 4 offers, £810 total, 40-45 mins each
Quidsy Pool — 4 offer pools, £150+ potential, one-time setup
Quidsy Friends — Unlimited, £25+ per friend, share once
Combined Total: £1,000+
Let me walk you through exactly how each method works.
Banking app sign-up bonuses are the easiest way to start earning money from banking apps. Banks and fintech companies offer free cash or shares to attract new customers and you can take full advantage.
Banks spend millions on marketing every year. Rather than paying for TV ads or billboards, many prefer to reward existing customers for bringing in new users - also, people tend to trust their friends and family's review when being recommended a product. It's cheaper for them and profitable for you.
You can make £1,000+ from banking app sign-ups in the UK, when using Quidsy. This breaks down as £52 from 7 quick sign-up bonuses, £810 from 4 bank switching offers, £150+ from the Quidsy Pool, and £25+ for every friend you invite through Quidsy Friends. With active referrals, there's no upper limit to your earnings.
Yes, it's completely safe and legal to sign up to multiple banking apps in the UK. Banks expect customers to shop around. Opening standard bank accounts or fintech app accounts doesn't affect your credit score - these use soft searches that aren't visible to other lenders.
For sign-up bonuses: Usually no minimum period, but check individual terms. Most digital banking apps are free, so there's no reason to close them.
For bank switching: Most require you to keep the account open for 30-90 days before you can switch away to the next bank. Always check the specific terms for each offer.
Plenty of sites list bank bonuses. Here's what makes Quidsy different:
The Quidsy difference: Most sites dump offers on you and leave you to figure out the rest. Quidsy has calculated the easiest route to profits, with their unique "Quidsy Plan" found in the Offers section.
Seventeen offers. £977 in direct earnings. £150+ in passive Pool potential.
The terms and timings have been checked. The guides are written. The tracking is built.
Banking bonuses are technically taxable income. However, the UK Trading Allowance gives you £1,000 tax-free miscellaneous income per year. Most people won't owe any tax unless they earn over £1,000 from banking bonuses alone. Keep a simple record of earnings just in case.
Yes. All banking apps mentioned in this guide are FCA regulated and your deposits are protected by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) up to £85,000. These are established banks and fintech companies with millions of UK customers.
Here are the 7 banking app sign-up offers currently available, listed in recommended order:
1. Zopa — £10 Free Cash
Time to complete: 12 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up via referral link and verify your identity. Payout arrives within 7 days.
2. Monzo — £10 Free Cash
Time to complete: 12 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up via referral link and make your first card payment (£1+). Payout is instant after your qualifying payment.
3. Zable — £10 Free Cash
Time to complete: 14 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up and deposit funds. Payout arrives within 7 days.
4. Trading 212 — £7 Free Share
Time to complete: 12 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up via referral link and deposit £1. Your free share is credited instantly.
5. Zilch — £5 Free Cash
Time to complete: 15 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up and make a purchase using Zilch. Credited instantly as Zilch rewards.
6. Robinhood — £5 Free Share
Time to complete: 12 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up via referral link. Payout arrives within 3 days.
7. Snoop — £5 Free Cash (Amazon Voucher)
Time to complete: 9 minutes • Difficulty: Easy
Sign up and link a bank account. Voucher arrives within 14 days.
Total: £52 profit in approximately 86 minutes of actual work.
The bit that takes the most time (around 5 minutes per app) is ID verification, where you'll need to use your phone camera to photograph your passport or driving licence. Have your ID ready before you start.
Pro Tip: Complete these offers while watching TV or during your lunch break. They require minimal attention and you can easily do 2-3 in one sitting.
Bank switching offers are the most lucrative way to earn money from banking apps in the UK. Major high street banks pay £175-£200 per switch to win your current account business.
The Current Account Switch Service (CASS) is a free, government-backed scheme that automatically transfers your direct debits, standing orders, and incoming payments to your new bank within 7 working days.
It's completely safe:
Guaranteed by the Switch Guarantee — if anything goes wrong, you're protected
Automatic redirection — payments sent to your old account are forwarded for 3 years
No fees — the service is completely free
Banks are so keen for your business that they'll pay you hundreds of pounds just to switch. And here's the clever part: you can switch multiple times per year, collecting bonuses each time. And ultimately you can continue using your current bank.
Santander — £200 bonus, £4/month fee. Requires 2 direct debits and £1,000 deposit.
Lloyds Bank — £200 bonus, no monthly fee. Requires 2 direct debits and mobile banking.
First Direct — £175 bonus, no monthly fee. Requires £1,000 monthly deposit.
Nationwide — £175 bonus, no monthly fee. Requires 2 direct debits and online banking.
Step 1: Choose your target bank
Start with the highest-value offers. Lloyds (£200, no fee) or Santander (£200, £4/month fee) are the best starting points.
Step 2: Open a new current account online
This takes 15-20 minutes. You'll need a valid UK address, your National Insurance number, and a passport or driving licence for ID verification.
Step 3: Initiate the Current Account Switch Service
During or after account opening, request a full switch from your existing current account. Choose a switch date (typically 7 working days away).
Step 4: Set up qualifying direct debits
Most offers require 2 active direct debits. Easy options include a charity donation (£1/month), or Quidsy's very own direct debit setup (£1).
Step 5: Meet the deposit requirement
Ensure the required £ amount hits the account before the deadline. You can transfer your salary, or simply move money from savings and then move it back after qualifying.
Step 6: Receive your bonus
Most banks pay within 30 days of meeting all requirements. Check your account or the bank's app for confirmation.
Important: You need an existing current account to switch FROM. If you only have one account, open a free basic account with any bank first (Starling and Monzo are quick to open), then use that as your "switching account" that you keep moving between banks.
Here's where earning money from banking apps gets really interesting. Most people complete their sign-up bonuses and stop there. But smart earners turn those completed offers into an ongoing income stream via referrals.
Traditional referral programmes have a major limitation: you only earn when someone you personally know signs up. Once you've referred your close friends and family, your earning potential hits a ceiling.
The Quidsy Pool solves this.
The Quidsy Pool is a community-powered referral link sharing system.
Here's how it works:
Step 1: Complete an offer — Sign up to Zopa, Monzo, Trading 212, or Snoop and earn your bonus
Step 2: Drop your link in the Pool — Go to quidsy.com/pool and paste your personal referral link
Step 3: We pass it on — When new Quidsy members start that offer, our system shows them a link from the Pool using a fair-rotation algorithm
Step 4: You get paid — If someone uses your link, the referral bonus hits your account automatically
The result? You earn referral bonuses from people you've never even met. It's genuine passive income with no spamming of friends and no awkward social media posts.
The Fair-Queue Algorithm
The Pool uses a 'Fair-Queue' algorithm means no favourites, no gaming the system. Every link gets shown an equal amount. It's completely transparent and free to participate.
Zopa — You earn £10 per referral, maximum £100 (10 referrals)
Monzo — You earn £5 per referral, unlimited earning potential
Trading 212 — You earn £5 per referral, maximum £25 (5 referrals)
Snoop — You earn £5 per referral, maximum £25 (5 referrals)
Total potential: £150+
The Quidsy Pool earns you money from strangers. Quidsy Friends earns you money from people you actually know, and the earnings can be significantly higher.
When you invite someone to join Quidsy using your personal referral link, something clever happens: they will always see YOUR Pool links for the offers they complete.
Not random links from the Pool. YOUR links. Every time.
Here's the flow:
You share your Quidsy link with a friend, family member, or colleague
They sign up to Quidsy through your link
They start completing offers — Zopa, Monzo, Trading 212, Snoop
Your referral links appear automatically for each of those offers
You earn the referral bonus every time they complete one
When your friend completes all the Pool offers using your links, here's what you earn:
Zopa — You earn £10
Monzo — You earn £5
Trading 212 — You earn £5
Snoop — You earn £5
Total per friend: £25
This is on TOP of the £52+ your friends earn themselves. You're not taking from them, you're both winning :)
Your personal Quidsy referral link works anywhere:
WhatsApp — Drop it in family group chats, friend groups, work chats
Instagram — Share in Stories with a "how I made £52 today" post
Facebook — Post in local community groups or your timeline
Twitter/X — Share your earnings screenshot with your link
Email — Send to colleagues, university mates, extended family
In person — Show people how you're making money and share the link
Real Talk: You're sharing a genuine way to make free money. Most people are grateful when you tell them about it.
Here's what makes the Quidsy system incredibly powerful - your earnings compound across multiple income streams:
Your own sign-up bonuses = £52
Pool earnings (strangers) = £150+
Quidsy Friends (5 friends) = £125
Bank switching = £810
Total: £1,147+
And the Pool and Friends earnings continue indefinitely beyond this.
Beyond the Quidsy ecosystem, most banking apps have their own built-in referral programmes. Once you've completed an offer, you can earn extra by referring friends directly through the app.
Use Quidsy Friends when: You're sharing with anyone you know personally, you want guaranteed link placement for all their offers, or you want to earn £25+ per person (vs single offer).
Use the Quidsy Pool when: You've exhausted your personal network, you want passive income from strangers, or you don't have time to actively promote.
Use traditional app referrals when: The app isn't in the Quidsy Pool yet, there's a limited-time bonus higher than normal, or you're already chatting about that specific app.
Before diving into banking app sign-ups, make sure you meet these basic criteria:
Age — You must be 18 or older for all banking offers
UK Residency — These offers are exclusively for UK residents
New Customers Only — Sign-up bonuses are for first-time customers only
ID Verification — You'll need a valid passport or UK driving licence
This is one of the most common questions, and the answer is reassuring:
Standard bank accounts and digital banking apps: Opening these does NOT affect your credit score. They use a "soft search" (or no search at all) that isn't visible to other lenders.
Products with credit facilities (credit cards, overdrafts, loans): These involve a "hard search" which can temporarily lower your score by a few points. However, the impact is minimal and recovers within a few months.
Bank switching: The Current Account Switch Service itself doesn't affect your credit score. However, if the new account includes an overdraft, the bank may perform a soft or hard search depending on their policy.
Bottom line: Completing the 7 banking app sign-ups in this guide will have zero impact on your credit score.
We have made completing the offers to maximise your earnings from banking app sign-ups and offers beyond, by breaking our long list of offers into clear phases.
Banking app sign-ups (Phase 1) — £52
Quidsy Pool passive income (Phase 2) — £100+
Quidsy Friends with 10 friends (Phase 3) — £250
Bank switching (Phase 4) — £810
Total: £1,212+
And the Pool and Friends earnings continue indefinitely beyond this.