A new guide published this week advises credit card holders on using their card overseas. According to UK Cards Association APACS, over 3% of credit card payments by Brits are made overseas. The APACS guide provides advice for holidaymakers and business travellers on the best places to withdraw cash abroad and on keeping card details [...]
UK consumers are spending more on debit cards and less on credit cards since the onset of the recession, payments association Apacs revealed this month. Brits spent 4% more on their debit cards in the first three months of this year compared to the year ago period, whilst credit card spending dropped 3% despite an [...]
UK credit card holders are only spending what they can afford to pay off at the end of the month, according to statistics released this week. APACS figures show that gross credit card lending for the first quarter of 2009 was £30.3 billion, whilst cardholders repaid £29.6 billion. Credit rating provider Equifax believes this is [...]
UK payment services organisation, APACS, has published a round-up of fraud losses during 2008. Card fraud losses total £609.9 million, online banking fraud £52.5 million and cheque fraud losses amounted to £41.9 million. In the case of card fraud, the two main areas of criminal activity involved transactions not protected by chip and PIN (specifically [...]
A new chip-and-pin device has been developed by fraudsters which allows them to tamper with chip-and-pin machines. The new scam was unveiled yesterday as police raided a counterfeit card factory in Birmingham and discovered technology being used to steal consumer’s details and make fake cards. Police are warning consumers that the devices are hidden inside [...]
According to figures from APACS, the UK payments association, consumers have not been won over by contactless payment cards. The cards allow consumers to buy small-ticket items on a credit or debit card without actually having to hand any plastic over or enter a pin. The cards have already been launched in London but Apacs [...]
According to the UK payments association, Apacs, mobile phones will soon allow people to pay for items. The organisation believes that mobile phones are a key part of the payment revolution as the number of people using credit cards and other plastic alternatives is increasing. The next step forward is clearly contactless transactions through mobile [...]
The £300 million Faster Payments Service, developed by 13 banks, gets underway today. The 13 banks included in the scheme are Abbey, Alliance and Leicester, Barclays, Citi, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks (National Australia Group), Co-operative Bank, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, Northern Bank (Danske Bank), Northern Rock, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group [...]
North Yorkshire Credit Union in liquidation
The North Yorkshire Credit Union has informed its 5,000 savers that it is no longer able to meet its expenses and has been placed in liquidation. It is the sixth credit union to collapse this year, while seven credit unions failed in 2011. The North Yorkshire credit Union is regulated by the Financial Services Authority [...]
First-time buyer mortgages remain in short supply
The Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) is failing to boost the supply of mortgages for first-time buyers, according to financial information service Moneyfacts. FLS, which was launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England in August, is designed to reduce funding costs for lenders, allowing them to increase their lending to businesses and individuals, [...]
Basic bank account standards at risk
Consumer Focus, the statutory consumer champion, is calling for a minimum standard for basic bank accounts to be introduced, to ensure the survival of the product. Basic bank accounts are used by people who are unable to open a regular current account, perhaps because of a poor credit history. It is estimated that they are [...]
A year has passed since the government replaced Child Trust Funds with Junior ISAs (JISAs) but more than half of parents are unaware that they exist, according to research by friendly society Family Investments Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were eligible to open a Child Trust Fund and to receive [...]
PPI costs increase for Lloyds and Barclays
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £1 billion to cover compensation costs for customers who were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Yesterday, Barclays revealed £700m of PPI costs in the 2012 third quarter increasing its total provision to £2bn. Lloyds Banking Group, which has made the largest PPI provision out of all the [...]
Bonfire Night worst day for burglaries warns Aviva
Insurance group Aviva is warning households to be vigilant over security at this time of the year, as burglaries tend to increase signficantly between Halloween and Bonfire Night. On Bonfire Night the number of burglaries increases by around 25 per cent compared with an average day, according to the company’s research. Aviva also reported a [...]
Consumer confidence hits six-month low
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents [...]
100,000 mortgage holders escape negative equity trap
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of borrowers in negative equity fell 13 per cent to 719,000 between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The number of borrowers paying a mortgage greater than the value of their property fell despite a further small [...]
Banking commission appoints counsel to cross-examine witnesses
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has appointed counsel to cross-examine witnesses during its inquiry into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Barrister David Quest has been appointed to question witnesses in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into the bank. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Commission said: “This [...]
Mortgage approvals increased in September
An increase in the number of mortgage approvals in September suggests that the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme, launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England, may be starting to give the property market a boost. According to Bank of England figures, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased by 2,103 to 50,024 [...]
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