Cost of spreading car insurance payments falls

21st October 2025 Consumer Lending | #insurance

Latest Consumer Intelligence marketView data shows the average cost of credit on monthly motor insurance payments fell from 10.6% in August 2024 to 9.7% in August 2025, continuing a year-on-year downward trend. Almost half of all active insurers reduced their instalment costs during this period. Consumer Intelligence says that the fall reflects a wider shift…

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FCA urges stricter controls as Romance fraud grows by 9%

17th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged banks and payment firms to enhance controls against romance fraud. The FCA has found examples of banks going to significant lengths to protect those at risk of romance fraud. But the regulator also uncovered missed opportunities to prevent these scams, which cost victims £106 million last year. One…

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Household credit availability continues to increase

17th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #household credit

Quarterly data from the Bank of England has found that lenders reported the availability of both secured and unsecured credit to households increased in the three months to end-August 2025 (Q3) and is expected to increase over the next three months to end-November 2025. Household demand for secured and unsecured lending for house purchase remained…

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Credit card spending rose by 2.4% in July

Latest data from UK Finance has found that there were 415 million credit card transactions in July, 2.4 per cent more than in July 2024. The total spend of £22.8 billion was 2.1 per cent higher than July 2024. Outstanding balances on credit card accounts have increased by 7.5 per cent over the twelve months…

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Confidence in fraud regulation collapses as criminals weaponise fast AI

Confidence in the UK’s ability to regulate fraud has collapsed to a historic low as the payments industry grapples with an explosion in AI-powered attacks, according to a comprehensive three-year analysis revealing the steepest decline in regulatory trust on record. according to analysis by The Payments Association. The research reveals a significant decline in confidence in…

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Fraud concerns escalate in financial sector

16th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Concerns over fraud have escalated sharply across the UK financial sector, with 68% of firms saying they are more worried about it today than 18 months ago, according to a new report from Dun & Bradstreet. The data showed that 82% of UK financial services organisations say they are ‘concerned’ about fraud risk, and among…

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Consumer car finance new business volumes fall by 5%

15th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #car finance

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer car finance new business volumes fell in August 2025 by 5% compared with the same month in 2024. The corresponding value of new business was 1% lower over the same period. In the eight months to August 2025, new business volumes held…

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Consumer finance grew by 2% in August

15th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #consumer credit

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in August 2025 by 2% compared with the same month in 2024.  In the eight months to August 2025, new business in this market was 4% higher than in the same period in 2024. The credit card and…

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Two-thirds of banks using AI to power their services

Most banks and financial service providers in the UK are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to power their services, according to new research from CRIF. Six in ten (62%) finance professionals, rising to over two-thirds of banking professionals (68%) specifically, report that their company is already using AI, with one in five (19%) saying that…

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Owning cheaper than renting in most major cities 

13th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgages#rent

Buying a home could be cheaper than renting in most major UK cities, according to Lloyds Bank analysis. The data shows that first-time buyers can save an average of £225 monthly by purchasing a home instead of renting. Their analysis shows that mortgage payments are typically 17% cheaper than rental costs in most major UK cities outside…

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Typical worker needs to save a lifetime’s worth of their earnings to become wealthy

9th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #wealthy

It would now take 52 years’ worth of typical earnings – £1.3 million in total – to move from the middle to the top of the wealth distribution, as wealth gaps continue to grow across Britain, according to new research from the Resolution Foundation. A new report examined the scale and distribution of household wealth…

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FCA estimates £11bn cost to motor finance industry in unveiling of redress scheme

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has this afternoon published its consultation on the motor finance compensation scheme. It estimates that, on average, customers due compensation will be eligible for £700 payouts on an expected 14 million unfair motor finance agreements, which could start next year, under an industry-wide compensation scheme proposed.  Based on the number of…

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Regulators to tackle poor claims management practices

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are joining together to tackle misleading advertising and inadequate information provided by some claims management companies (CMCs) and law firms working on motor finance claims, and the risk that excessive fees are charged to clients.  …

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