A new report from analytics firm Data Genetics suggests that criminals can guess PIN numbers 10 per cent of the time purely because people are choosing PIN numbers that are easy to remember. Data Genetics found that one in nine people use “1234” as their PIN number when withdrawing cash at ATMs or making payments [...]
The UK Payments Council, the body which oversees the strategy on payments systems, has said debit card usage has surged in the last year. For the first time ever, consumers are opting to use their debit cards more than coins and notes, figures revealed today. According to the Payments Council, spending on debit cards totalled [...]
The UK Payments Council, the body which oversees the strategy on payments systems, has said cheque usage continues to decline as consumers opt to use debit cards. In the April to June period, an average of 290,000 fewer cheques were written each day, a fall of 10% compared with the same period last year. The [...]
The five pound note is to re-establish itself in the wallets and purses of the nation on the news that all banks and building societies will be dispensing fivers from ATMs in the future. Currently, scarcity means that £5s change hands many more times than other notes before being returned for sorting and the increased [...]
In a bid to boost circulation of the £5 note, ATMs which only dispense fivers have been installed across Britain, following a two-year trial in London. Almost two dozen machines, run by the ATM operator Bank Machine, have been installed in various locations, including Manchester, Stroud, Oxford, Cardiff and Portsmouth. The 21 new £5-only machines [...]
In a bid to boost circulation of the £5 note, the Bank of England has said it will urge major banks to increase the availability of £5 notes in their ATMs. Fivers change hands quickly and, as a result, only last around a year before becoming too damaged to use. In comparison, the £50 note [...]
In a bid to boost circulation of the £5 note, HSBC has begun a pilot scheme in conjunction with the Bank of England. The bank said it will stock more £5 notes in 100 of its ATMs across the Midlands and South West England. According to the latest figures from the Bank of England, there [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
