You can get nearly £1,000 for switching banks but you'll need to act fast

With Christmas just around the corner and the cost-of-living crisis as prevalent as ever, any extra penny you can get is a bonus.

So, the fact that you can get nearly £1,000 just for taking a few simple steps feels like a bit of a no-brainer, but is it too good to be true?

Barclays is offering new customers up to £900 to switch their current account and savings into their bank; however, it does come with a bit of a catch and not everyone will be able to meet the requirements.

To start off, customers will be offered £200 simply for swapping over the Barclays Blue Rewards, which does come with a number of benefits, like an Apple+ TV subscription, but the account does cost £5 a month, adding up to £60 a year, This Is Money reports.

Barclays is offering the cashback scheme for new customers (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

So, if you were to stick with the account for a little over three years you would spend the £200 back with Barclays.

If you do still fancy making the swap, you can simply do it on the Barclays banking app, switching over two active direct debits and paying in at least £2,000 within 30 days of opening the account.

Next up, the slightly more out-of-reach benefit is £400 for switching to a Barclays Premier Account instead - but there is a pretty big catch for this one. You need to be earning £75,000 a year or have £100,000 in savings and investments with the bank, which, let's face it, rules out the majority of people.

Finally, the bank is offering a cashback service for anyone who transfers their savings into an ISA, but how much cash you get depends entirely on how much money you transfer. If you happen to have a handy little £100,000 in your savings, you can get £500, but don't let that discourage you.

Most of the deals apply to people with a lot of money in the bank (Getty Stock Images)

The minimum amount needed to get a cash incentive is £25,000 up to £49,000, which would earn £100 cashback. Meanwhile, £50,000 to £99,999 would earn £200 cashback.

Obviously, if you have that much money accumulating in the bank, it's important to consider what the accounts offer in the long term in terms of interest, rather than an immediate cashback incentive. It's worth noting that Barclays' Instant ISA has an interest rate of just 1.1 per cent variable, which is lower than existing deals currently on the market.

So, you could make a quick £900 overnight, but it has to be the right move for you to make it worthwhile. To get the cashback, you need to make the switch between 7 October and 27 November.