It's also a regulation / regulatory capture issue. The UK has a switching regulation set up so that all you have to do is go into the new bank and tell them you

It's also a regulation / regulatory capture issue. The UK has a switching regulation set up so that all you have to do is go into the new bank and tell them your account number at the old bank. All scheduled deposits and withdrawals switch over with no further effort on your behalf. (Then again, they also don't have things like paper checks anymore.)