The Second Blog Test Post
This is a second blog entry. Here I can write lots and lots more about any particular subject.
Current Accounts
New report shows cash still dominates
52% of all payments made by cash in 2013* Number of free-to-use ATMs at all time high On average £6,083 withdrawn per second at ATMs in 2013 A new industry report**, UK Cash & Cash Machines 2014, published today (6 June 2014) confirms the strong role cash continues to play in our society, even when digital currencies […]
Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Money – 48 hour rate sale
As we move towards the summer holiday season, we’re starting to see seasonal offers on Travel Money. Sainsbury’s Travel Money is offering a special rate(1) on all currencies bought online or over the phone between 9.30am, Tuesday 10th June and 9.30am, Thursday 12th June. Nectar cardholders could also benefit from exclusive rates(2) by providing their card number when they […]
The real cost of a bounced Direct Debit
With 42% of current account holders having paid bank charges*, many of us are familiar with the cost of a bounced (or returned) Direct Debit – when your bank refuses to honour the payment because you have insufficient funds. Most basic bank account and current account providers charge for this, with some charging up to […]
Credit Cards
Increased use of cashback credit cards
Credit card customers cashing in with cashback Petrol stations and supermarkets see big increases – with spend rising 64 per cent and 99 per cent respectively Santander 1|2|3 Cashback Credit Card has given customers over £27.6 million in cashback since launch in September 2011 With a reported 60 per cent increase in credit card usage […]
Virgin announce 26 month balance transfer card
Interest free balance transfer period extended to 26 months, with six months for purchases Survey shows people underestimate how much life can change in little over two years Almost ¾ of people surveyed had experienced life changing event over past two years But only 24% believe they will experience a life changing event over the […]
Banks battle for credit card balances
Banks compete to offer low fees and long interest-free periods Average balance transfer fee of 2.81% is lowest in five years* Interest-free introductory period have almost doubled in duration in last five years Yet representative APR has steadily increased Banks in the UK are battling to attract credit card customers in need of a balance […]
Savings and Investments
Skipton launches new one-year bond
Skipton Building Society has today (Wednesday 19 June)launched a new one-year Fixed Rate Branch Bond paying up to 1.35%. This new addition to the Society’s fixed rate branch bonds offer customers the chance to benefit from competitive returns over terms of one, two or five years. The minimum investment for the new account is £500, […]
Three million Britons have a second job to boost income
Three million (six per cent) Britons have a second job to boost their income One in three (36 per cent) people supplement their primary monthly income, pocketing £2,536 a year each People warned they may not be covered by their existing insurance policy if they are earning money from home to top up their monthly […]
AXA Wealth calls for two year sunset clause on the cash rebate ban
AXA Wealth believes platform paper position on rebates may be counter intuitive to the principles of RDR by favouring an old world model The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent platform paper set out a ban on platform cash rebates, including legacy on cash rebates, from April 2014, with all other legacy business required to move away […]
Borrowing
1 in 20 say they couldn’t live without borrowing
Nearly two-thirds of people borrow Just 1 in 10 feel ‘relaxed’ about borrowing Women twice as likely as men to be scared of borrowing Nearly one in 20 people in the UK admit they could not live without borrowing money. New research conducted on behalf of alternative account provider thinkmoney.co.uk reveals that 4.3% of adults […]
Payday lenders’ failure to treat customers fairly sparks Parliamentary action
Evidence from Citizens Advice found payday lenders are not keeping to their own promises including checking if people can afford to pay back loans, freezing interest rates and charges for those struggling to repay and not pressuring people into extending loans. Paul Blomfield MP is now introducing a Private Members Bill to protect people from […]
M&S Bank launches its lowest ever personal loan rates
With exclusive rates for existing customers M&S Bank has launched its lowest ever loan rate today (Tuesday 28th May), with a rate of 5.00 per cent APR (representative) on loans between £7,500 and £15,000, available exclusively for existing M&S current account, credit card and loan customers. M&S Bank has also introduced market-leading mid-value and high-value […]
Mortgages
New Mortgage rules come in to effect
From today, new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) come into force which will put common sense at the heart of the mortgage market and prevent borrowers ending up with a mortgage they cannot afford. The key changes, which are the outcome of the FCA’s mortgage market review (MMR), mean that most people will […]
Gocompare.com comments on the FCA’s new mortgage rules
New mortgage lending rules, developed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) following its mortgage market review, will take effect from Saturday 26 April, and will see prospective homebuyers and movers facing more scrutiny of their outgoings when applying for a mortgage. Matt Sanders, Gocompare.com’s mortgage spokesman, said: “For some time now lenders have been requiring […]
Barclays heats up mortgage market with rate cuts
Barclays is making further cuts to its residential mortgage range, reducing rates by up to 70 basis points and launching new remortgage offers designed to help over 3.1m borrowers save money on their mortgage. Coming into effect from Friday 21 June, the “Great Escape” range of remortgage offers is expanded with a new option specifically […]
Insurance
Defaqto launches new Star Ratings for whole of life policies
Defaqto, an independent researcher of financial products, has launched new Life Assurance Star Ratings for whole of life policies to help advisers and consumers identify where products sit in the market in terms of the overall quality they offer. This further enhances Defaqto’s ratings in the life assurance space, adding to the Star Ratings for […]
Organised gangs behind fraudulent claims
Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, detected over £110 million worth of insurance fraud in 2013 – a 19% increase compared with 2012. Aviva detects over 45 fraudulent claims per day worth more than a total of £300,000.* Aviva’s figures show that insurance fraud is a diverse crime and can range from exaggerating genuine claims or […]
Uninsured driver fines not enough, says AA
Court fines less than fixed penalty ‘Tough, no-compromise approach’ needed Among the motoring offence reforms being introduced by the government next month is an increase in the fixed penalty for driving without insurance, from £200 to £300. However, Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, says that while this increase is welcome, it will do little to […]
Other Recent Posts
Blog Test Post One
The first blog test post. This will be to appear later and will have lots of information on it for you to read through.
Post Office to lend £2.5bn as mortgage demand grows
Post Office intends to lend £2.5bn to mortgage borrowers by year end Fifty mortgage specialists in place by end of June The Post Office has today launched a major assault on the mortgage market with its intention to lend £2.5bn by the end of the year. Post Office will increase the amount it lends in […]
