Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has outlined changes that will provide businesses with more information on the card payment fees they incur. This follows its market review which found Mastercard and Visa don’t face competition with fees rising and a lack of clarity on how much businesses will have to pay to accept card payments. Card payments…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will allow banks to set their own contactless payment limits from 19th March 2026. Currently, the limit stands at £100, raised from £45 five years ago. The FCA aims to enhance fraud prevention by permitting only banks with strong fraud controls to adjust these limits. People could find it easier…
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Bank of England has cut interest rates by a quarter point to 3.75% in response to a weakening labour market and slowing inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-4 in favour of the cut, marking the first reduction since August. Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the Building Societies Association, said…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is enhancing its efforts to improve standards in the home and travel insurance markets following a super-complaint from Which? The FCA plans to review claims handling and customer service over the next year. It aims to boost consumer understanding of insurance products and ensure firms provide accurate information at the…
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Chetwood Bank has appointed George Gee as Managing Director of its mortgages division and member of its executive committee. Gee, who has worked in the sector for more than 20 years, joins the bank from Foundation Home Loans where he fulfilled a number of senior leadership roles including Chief Commercial Officer, Commercial Director, and Customer…
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Digital bank Monzo has announced that it will acquire digital mortgage broker Habito. Founded in 2016 Habito employs approximately 100 people. The deal comes as Monzo looks to branch out beyond its core digital banking products, becoming the first UK bank to offer end-to-end mortgage broking within its app. Kunal Malani, Chief Banking Officer at…
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Intermediaries think government policy is the number one risk to the mortgage market, according to research from Black & White Bridging. Black & White Bridging polled one hundred intermediaries active in the bridging sector and asked them to rank risks to the mortgage market, risks that included Bank of England base rate decisions, consumer affordability,…
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UK Finance has forecasted that overall gross lending is set to rise by 4% to £300 billion in 2026. In its Mortgage Market Forecast for 2026, data shows lending for house purchases grew by 22% this year to £176 billion, with a notable spike in activity in advance of the stamp duty increase in April.…
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Nationwide Building Society has been fined £44 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to manage financial crime risks from October 2016 to July 2021. The FCA found that Nationwide lacked adequate anti-financial crime systems, allowing customers to misuse personal accounts for business activities. This oversight led to missed opportunities in detecting £27.3m…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new plans to reform the mortgage market to widen access to affordable mortgages for consumers. The four areas of focus include simplifying mortgage rules for first-time buyers and underserved consumers; reviewing retirement interest-only requirements to make them more accessible; improving innovation and disclosure rules and working with…
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Consumer payments platform, Zilch has announced that it has secured a payments services licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The licensing marks a significant milestone for Zilch, removing the reliance on third-parties and enabling the business to build more payments methods in-house, develop and bring new products to market even faster and innovate quickly…
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The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has submitted its response to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation on a proposed Section 404 Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme. While lenders fully support a robust and credible redress programme for customers who have suffered loss, the FLA warns that the scheme as drafted cannot deliver the fairness,…
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The Chancellor has appointed Nationwide Building Society CEO Dame Debbie Crosbie as the new Women in Finance champion, as ministers step up the pressure on the City to go further and faster on women’s progression to senior roles. Dame Debbie succeeds Aviva CEO Dame Amanda Blanc, whose tenure saw senior female representation in key finance roles jump from 32% to 36% as well as leading the charge on…
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