Here are the financial companies that have provided the best products and service this year.
The votes for the 2016/2017 loveMONEY Awards are now in.
We asked you to identify the best financial providers in 10 different categories, including current accounts, credit cards, savings accounts, mortgages and investment platforms.
So, without any further ado, here are the winners you picked.
Best current account provider
Winner: Santander
Runner up: Nationwide
Santander was the winner for the second year running thanks to the enduring popularity of its 123 current account.
It’s interesting that the bank still came top despite making two hugely unpopular changes to the account in 2016.
First, it hiked the monthly fee from £2 to £5 in January and then, in November, slashed the rate you can earn on in-credit balances from 3% to 1.5%.
However, most of you felt it was still the best account, given that you can earn up to 3% cashback on household bills as well as opportunities to earn cashback on debit card purchases.
Nationwide was the runner up in this category. The building society regularly scores highly for customer satisfaction, while the 5% rate on its FlexDirect current account can’t be beaten (even if it is just on balances up to £2,500).
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Best credit card providers
Given the overwhelming popularity of credit cards, we asked you to vote for the best in each category.
Best balance transfer credit card
Winner: Barclaycard
Runner up: Virgin Money
Barclaycard took top spot in what is always a highly competitive area.
The banking giant offers a great 37-Month 0% Balance Transfer credit card with a 1.4% fee, and a 32-month version with a fee of just 0.6%.
Virgin Money was the runner up in this category.
The bank has a long history of competitive 0% balance transfer cards, with its latest offers including a 40-month deal with a 1.7% fee and a 32-month offer charging 0.6%.
Not for you? View more balance transfer offers
Best cashback credit card
Winner: American Express
Runner up: Santander
It was no surprise to see American Express rack up the most votes in the cashback credit card category.
Its Platinum Cashback and Platinum Cashback Everyday cards, which pay 5% for the first three months, have always been popular with loveMONEY readers.
In the runner up spot was Santander. Its 123 credit card remains popular, but sadly the bank closed that particular offer to new borrowers, who will have to make do with the All in One credit card instead.
Compare more cashback credit card offers on loveMONEY
New purchase credit card
Winner: Nationwide
Runner up: Barclaycard
It was incredibly tight in the new purchase credit card category, with Nationwide beating Barclaycard by a single vote.
Barclaycard is always thereabouts with its credit card offers – its latest new purchase deal charges no interest for 25 months – but the popularity of Nationwide is something of a surprise.
The building society generally doesn’t feature high up in the 0% new purchases tables – its longest offer is currently 12 months – but it does score points for offering fee-free purchases while abroad through its Select Credit Card.
Given that some lenders charge up to 3% for this, it’s clear why it's a popular perk.
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Best savings provider
Winner: Coventry Building Society
Runner up: Virgin Money
Coventry Building Society was the most popular savings provider, no doubt helped by its annual Poppy Bond.
As the name implies it raises money for the Royal British Legion while offering savers a reasonable rate.
The bond attracts such huge interest each year that it generally sells out within weeks.
That's not to say it's the only reason Coventry attracted the most votes, as the building society does offer genuinely table-topping products from time to time.
Just this week it launched a new 1.05% rate on its Easy Access Cash ISA which can't be beat.
View more savings accounts and ISAs
Best P2P lender
Winner: Zopa
Runner up: Wellesley
With most savings rates on offer, many loveMONEY readers are turning their attention to peer-to-peer lending.
Zopa was your pick in this section, racking up twice as many votes as runner up Wellesley.
Zopa has been around for well over a decade now and is seen as a safer option in what can be a risky sector: the lender was one of the first to introduce a compensation fund in the event of a borrower defaulting.
At present it offers returns of between 2.9% and 6.1%, depending on the level of risk you want to take on.
Best life insurer
Winner: Aviva
Runner up: Legal & General
You voted for Aviva as the UK’s best life insurer for 2016/17.
In truth, no single insurer stood out in this category: the winner achieved a little over 10% of the vote, while runner up L&G got the nod from almost 9% of you.
LV=, which came in third, received just under 8% of the votes.
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Best car insurer
Winner: Aviva
Runner up: LV=
Aviva came up trumps again in the car insurance category.
The insurer recently announced that it will offer drivers who also save into a pension a discount on their motoring premiums as it found they were less likely to make a claim or report a car stolen.
Sadly, you’ll need to have that pension with Aviva if you want to qualify for the discount, but it’s still an interesting development.
Compare car insurance quotes with loveMONEY
Best personal loan provider
Joint winners: Sainsbury’s Bank and First Direct
Runner up: Tesco Bank
Sainsbury’s Bank and First Direct were the joint winners in the personal loan category.
Both regularly feature in the best buy tables, with Sainsbury’s lowest rate currently 3%, while First Direct is slightly higher at 3.3%.
It was interesting to see Tesco Bank take the runner up spot. The lender certainly has competitive rates – 3.3% on larger loans – but it suffered a publicity disaster late last year when hackers stole cash from 9,000 customers.
This was just weeks before we opened the voting for this year’s awards, and it seems the news didn’t rock your confidence in the brand.
Compare personal loans with loveMONEY
Best mortgage lender
Winner: Nationwide
Runner up: HSBC
Moving on to mortgages, and Nationwide was the clear winner here. The building society has built a strong reputation as a flexible lender with competitive rates.
It continued this trend with the launch of its Family Deposit Mortgage, which allows families to raise cash from existing properties to help relatives buy homes.
It’s this kind of approach that makes it so popular with loveMONEY readers – you vote it the joint-winner in last year’s awards.
This year’s runner up, HBSC, may not have quite the same reputation in terms of customer service and flexibility, but it does have the more competitive products.
The lender regularly features at or near the top of fixed and tracker mortgage best buy tables.
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Best credit report provider
Winner: Experian
Runner up: ClearScore
With 35% of the vote, Experian racked up the highest percentage of your votes across all the categories.
The largest credit reference agency now lets you view your credit score for free, which may have won it a few extra votes this year.
However, you’ll still have to pay £14.99 a month for the more detailed Credit Expert service (once the free 30-day trial ends).
Compare offers from various credit reference agencies with loveMONEY
Best customer service
Winner: Nationwide
Runner up: First Direct
loveMONEY readers are already well adept at sniffing out the best deals, but one thing that’s harder work out is what kind of service you’ll get after you’ve applied.
If you need a query answered or something goes wrong, knowing a company has competent staff and simple processes for helping customers is a massive help.
So this year we asked an open-ended question to determine which companies across the financial sector have offered you the best service over the last year.
Nationwide was your most popular choice, followed closely by First Direct.
The two dominated this section, accounting for a third of all the votes.
What’s particularly pleasing is that you don’t have to pay too much of a premium in return for top customers service – both companies picked up at least one gong in the other categories.
So there you have it, the best financial companies of 2016/17, as voted for by you.
Once again, a big thanks to all those who took the time to fill out our survey (and to the reader who won our £100 prize)!
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