Switching provider is a regulated event. The Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/2038) require a switching service, comparable fee information and access to basic bank accounts. In practice it runs through the Current Account Switch Service operated by Pay.UK, which completes in seven working days and carries its own guarantee. The CMA's Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 pushed banks to make that service visible. UK GDPR Art. 20 gives a separate right to receive personal data in a portable form. The form therefore names one person and two accounts at once. anonym.plus marks each field on your machine, so the routing instructions stay clear while customer details are shielded.
When this applies
A processor testing a new file format needs realistic samples. The institution codes and the field positions matter. The customer's name, the number being left and the number being joined do not.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the request form in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR reads a scanned, signed page.
- It flags the customer and both numbers.
- Confirm the flags and keep the institution codes.
- Apply Mask to the number and personal fields.
- Save the clean record locally.
What you need to provide
- The request file (PDF, DOCX, or scan).
- An operator: Replace, Redact, or Mask.
- Optional allow-list for institution and routing codes.
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | customer P. Nair → [CUSTOMER] |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | source 44120091 → ****0091 |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | dest 88301220 → ****1220 |
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | QQ 44 12 00 D → [NINO] |
| Money | MONEY | moved £25,000 → [AMOUNT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | dated 06/2026 → [DATE] |
Compliance achieved
- Handles the switch record behind the service the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/2038) require.
- Preserves the trail a claim under the Current Account Switch Guarantee, operated by Pay.UK, depends on.
- Fits the transparency the CMA Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 aimed at.
- Keeps this separate from a portability request under UK GDPR Art. 20, which is a different duty on the same fields.
- Masks the source and destination numbers in one pass; nothing is uploaded.
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Limitations & cautions
A move links two accounts, so masking one side leaves a path back to the customer. Mask both. Keep the unmasked original as well: a Switch Guarantee claim is settled from the real record, not from your copy.
Frequently asked questions
Does the tool catch both sides of a switch?
Yes. It flags every banking number on the page, including the source and the destination, so neither route back to the customer survives the pass.
Is a switch the same as data portability?
No. A switch under the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 moves payments and balances between providers. UK GDPR Art. 20 gives the customer a right to receive their own personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable form. The two often touch the same fields, but they are separate duties with separate timescales.
Is the form uploaded for processing?
No. The app is fully offline, so the request stays on your device.