Banks Set to Increase Speed of Pending Payments
Bank customers are being forced to wait up to nine days for pending payments. Research carried out by Money Mail has discovered that millions of routine transactions such as cashing cheques, transfers before customers and pending payments are taking days to process. The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has raised awareness and concern about the delay promising to banish waiting times with a new improved system.
Currently if you pay a cheque into an account on a Monday - it will not be your money until the following Tuesday and if you pay using card in smaller stores transactions will not appear or funds will not leave your account read more »
Santander Charges On ‘Free’ Accounts
Almost a quarter of a million small business account holders have been told by their bank, Santander, that their ‘free’ accounts will now cost £7.50 a month.
The bank has sent out letters to customers giving a warning of the charge, which will be introduced later this year.
A spokeswoman at Santander said: "Our business customers have told us they require more."
“The majority of our customers will see that this account is highly competitive and gives them the all-round service they demand so that they can concentrate on growing their businesses. It is not viable to offer them more, for read more »
Useless Perk Charges To Be Stopped At Banks
Banks are to be banned from charging for perks that appear useless to its account-holders, under new Financial Services Authority (FSA) advice. New rules to ensure that customers are eligible to claim for perks like mobile phone and travel insurance are to be laid from the start for upgraded account-holders.
Sheila Nicoll, FSA Director of Policy said: "These products are often referred to as upgraded accounts, but if you end up paying for an element you cannot claim on, it is money down the drain."
"We are closely monitoring the promotion of packaged bank accounts and the new rules will make sure customers know what they are buying and that read more »
Lloyds TSB International First To Remove Overseas Transfer Fees
Lloyds TSB is removing its fees on international money transfers, the first high street bank to do so. All existing and new holders of Lloyds Premier International Accounts will no longer be charged when moving money to an overseas account whether they’re using the online, telephone and postal service.
“Removing fees for international money transfers is a logical, and we hope popular, step to take as we try to build the market-leading banking service for expats,” said Russell Galley, Managing Director at Lloyds TSB International. read more »
Interest Rates Rise On Fixed-rate Accounts
Interest rates on fixed-rate savings accounts have increased again, providing great news for savers. Rates have been rising steadily on these accounts since May as MoneySupermarket research shows the average rate for a two-year fixed-rate bond is up 0.09% to 3.76%.
Kevin Mountford, Head of Banking at MoneySupermarket.com says:
"Despite low interest rates, there is still healthy competition among savings providers. With the recent increase in rates from the likes of Yorkshire Building Society, the Co-operative Bank and the AA, savvy savers need to be quick to take advantage as these rates may not hang around for too read more »
The current account war has intensified
Halifax has re-launched its £100 switching offer. Having already run the incentive during January and February, the company found great success with more than 80,000 customers moving their current accounts over during the period- a figure almost double the amount of people switching to its service during the same period in 2011. Following this success, Halifax has made the decision to re-launch the offer, running until July 15th.
Marks and Spencer have also both joined list of firms hoping to sway customers towards their customers, both opening more branches. Metro Bank has reportedly raised £126m to fund the expansion, adding stores in read more »
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