StepChange Debt Charity has announced that it is entering into an exciting new partnership with fintech innovator OpenWrks to bring the opportunities offered by Open Banking into its services. StepChange’s new Money Coaching tool, which will be made available to clients accessing support with their persistent credit card debt, will utilise OpenWrks’ sector-leading Open Banking…
Tackling the root causes of complaints about bills and debt could help transform consumers’ views of the water industry, according to a new report. CCW – the voice for water consumers – is launching a fresh bid to help the industry get to grips with billing complaints, which continue to cause enormous frustration for thousands…
Two-in-five (40%) UK employees say they are living payday-to-payday and have no emergency savings, and nearly a third (29%) have financial problems that are negatively affecting their lives, according to a study of more than 4,000 UK employees by Willis Towers Watson. Women were a third more likely than men to be financially stressed (48%…
A third of undergraduates are using loans, overdrafts and credit cards to pay rent at university, the National Student Accommodation Survey 2020 has found. Some are even taking out payday loans to pay their landlords. The annual research by money advice site Save the Student polled 2,168 students, and reveals widespread borrowing among undergrads. Although 36% turn…
A new guide has been published to help financial firms — and other creditors — better understand and support customers struggling with both debt and mental health problems. Research by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute shows that half of all people in problem debt in England also have a mental health problem, which…
Eight in ten businesses believe data is one of their most valuable assets, but a high degree of inaccuracy is hindering critical initiatives, new research from Experian has revealed. The annual Global Data Management report, which surveyed 1,100 data practitioners and data-driven business leaders globally, found that businesses are still struggling to incorporate meaningful data…
More than three out of ten consumers (34%) say they would be most likely to take on extra debt if they were faced with a sudden gap in their finances, according to new research from R3, the insolvency trade body. Thirteen percent of over 2,000 people surveyed by Savanta ComRes for R3’s latest Personal Debt…
A group of cross-party MPs and Peers has joined a coalition of debt advice campaigners in urging the Government to break its silence on bailiff industry reform. Today marks a year since the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) closed its call for evidence on the bailiff industry, but despite overwhelming evidence of the need for wide-ranging…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today imposed a fine of £2.77 million on car finance provider, Moneybarn for not treating customers fairly when they fell behind with loan repayments while in financial difficulties, between 1 April 2014 and 4 October 2017. The FCA says Moneybarn also did not communicate the likely financial consequences of…
Communities are being encouraged to take part in a new initiative to help improve access to cash. The new Community Access to Cash Pilots, being funded by the financial services industry, will help to work out ways to meet local access to cash needs. ATM and bank branch closures have fuelled fears that “cash deserts”…