Halifax plans to assault the clearing banks' dominance of the market for current accounts by attracting 500,000 customers a year for the next four years to If, its new Intelligent Finance telephone and internet bank.

The second former building society in as many days to pledge to win customers from the four big clearing banks, which have an 80% stranglehold on current accounts, Halifax insisted that the proposition it unveiled yesterday heralded a revolution in banking.

Abbey National, another big former building society, earlier this week said it too wanted to boost the number customers using current accounts. Today, though, Lloyds TSB, one of the "big four", is expected to unveil its internet proposition, entitled ebank, as well as details of its internet bank in Europe. James Crosby, the chief executive of Halifax, said If was part of the bank's aim of becoming the "consumers' champion".

Unveiled to the tunes of Fatboy Slim, to which If has secured the rights for £500,000, If could save the typical consumer £60 to £70 a month, he said. Mr Crosby said banks made profits from borrowing money from customers in the form of current accounts and lending it back to the same individual through loans. If intended to avoid that.

Referring to Don Cruickshank's critical inquiry into banking competition, Mr Crosby said: "Cruickshank confirmed what we knew about UK banking".

He said If would allow Halifax, which also has its own-branded internet bank, to compete with the clearing banks in current accounts and credit cards. Halifax intends to roll the service out to small businesses, its first foray into the market. It is also looking for partnerships in Europe.

If consists of five products - current accounts, personal loans, credit cards, mortgages and savings - and will be connected together to allow customers to allow the rates of interest paid or charged on each of the products to counteract one another.

In some very few circumstances this would mean some customers enjoyed 0% mortgage rates, said Jim Spowart, chief executive of If, who also set up Standard Life bank.

Unlike other "start-up" banks, Mr Crosby said, If would be profitable in three years, produce a return on capital of 15% and have 500,000 customers in a year, and 2m by the end of 2004.

Mark Thomas, banking analyst at Fox Pitt Kelton said: "This type of product is not new although some of the technical delivery will be state of the art."