Bank customer mobility is at an all-time high, according to the Irish Banking Federation (IBF).

The federation says that by the end of this year some 32,000 customers will have used the IBF Personal Account Switching Code to switch accounts, since its introduction in February 2005.

The federation now estimates the overall effective customer mobility rate to be 4 per cent. This rate is based on customers switching financial institutions with or without using the code.

The federation said the code, as well as facilitating approximately 1,400 switches per month, has raised awareness and created an appetite among customers for bank account mobility.

"As a result many thousands more customers have been exercising their freedom to shop around across the wide range of competitive product offerings available to them."

The federation's statistics indicate that by the end of the year more than 400 business accounts will have been switched from one financial institution to another.

This lower level of activity reflects the smaller overall size of the business account market, the greater complexity and advance planning involved in switching business accounts, and the shorter period the code has been in operation for business accounts (since July 2006).

Mary O'Dea, consumer director with the financial regulator, said the availability of free banking is an incentive to switch banks, while the new codes have made the process easier. "We encourage consumers to keep an eye on developments in the market."