Which? recommended current account providers: Five banks and building societies named - and none of the most popular banks made the list

Consumer watchdog Which? has revealed banks that have been awarded 'recommended provider' badges following a survey of more than 6,000 account holders.

The poll, carried out by Deltapoll in August, revealed nearly two-fifths (37%) of current account holders have remained loyal to their provider for more than 20 years - with Which? warning such loyalty is often going unrewarded.

Experts reviewed features of accounts, such as fees, overdrafts, charges and perks, as well as surveying account holders to establish customer satisfaction. Once the data was compiled, they ranked the banks - and those who stood out were awarded a Which? recommended provider (WRP) badge.

Six providers were awarded a badge – Chase, Danske Bank, First Direct, Monzo, Nationwide Building Society and Starling Bank. Chase and Danske Bank secured WRP status for the first time.

First Direct is the longest-running current account WRP, holding the award for over a decade, while Nationwide was singled out for praise after its recent 'branch promise', which saw the bank pledge to keep each of its 696 Nationwide and Virgin Money branches open until at least 2030.

Meanwhile, Which? also said Allied Irish Bank and Revolut came close to receiving WRP status this year.

Sam Richardson, deputy editor of Which? Money, said: "Banks are not all the same and our analysis proves this. Perks like fee-free spending abroad and instant spending notifications are becoming normalised, while cashback, loyalty payments and switching bonuses can earn you hundreds of pounds."

None of Barclays (48 million customers), HSBC (39m), or Lloyds (26m) - the UK's most popular banks by customer numbers - were awarded WRP status.

Nationwide is the largest bank to make the list, with an estimated 16.3m customers, putting it fourth in the UK rankings.