Treasury plans fee free bank account
15/12/2014
The Treasury has announced plans to launch a new fee-free bank account on the high street.
Nine lenders in the country will offer these bank accounts to millions of customers who have been locked out of the banking system due to bad credit. The participating lenders are Barclays, the Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, National Australia Bank, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander UK and TSB. These accounts are expected to be launched by the end of 2015.
The basic bank accounts will not offer overdrafts or cheque books. The fees that current consumers receive on their current accounts if a direct debt or standing order payment is missed will be scrapped.
The British Bankers Association (BBA), said that the new account would be aimed at people who might not be able to open a standard current account and customers in financial difficulty.
BBA chief executive Anthony Browne said:
"These basic accounts will make it easier for more people to manage their money. They will have many features that will help people to budget, pay bills and save up"
The new fee-free accounts will offer services to customers, including all standard over-the-counter services in bank and post office branches and access to the entire national ATM network. This will offer consumers the same services as the banks other personal current accounts.
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Social networks prove lucrative for fraudsters
Social networks such as Facebook, Bebo and Twitter are proving to be something of a lucrative gold mine for fraudsters around the world. It is becoming more and more apparent, as confirmed by the Serious Fraud Office, that fraudsters are using individual's records on Facebook, Bebo and other social networking sites to harvest vital information which they can use to perpetrate scams and frauds....
Read MoreDo I really need an overdraft?
Many people in the UK will have access to "interest-free" overdrafts for which they may be charged a small administration fee on a monthly basis. However, do we really need an overdraft or is it simply a long-term extension of our own credit facilities? The ideal of an overdraft should simply be access to emergency credit at very short notice. However, it can be very easy to fall into the trap...
Read More'Consult range of information before opening account'
Consumers considering opening a new savings account should look for the products which receive consistently high ratings on price comparison sites, one of the UK's largest lenders has advised. Financial experts and independent financial advisors frequently endorse using a price comparison site, such as Moneysupermarket.com and MoneyExpert.com, as a quick and effective way to asses a range of produ...
Read MoreIs it ever too soon to teach your children about finance?
Each and every one of us will have been through difficult financial situations in our lives, we will have been short of money at some time, we will have overspent but ultimately we should be passing on these experiences to our children. It is never too soon learn to start to teach your child about finance, about the value of money and the cost of living although you do need to be careful about how...
Read MoreGovernment refutes bank nationalisation rumours
The UK government has come out today and refuted allegations that plans are already afoot to nationalise vast areas of the UK financial system. The likes of Barclays bank and Lloyds TSB have been mentioned by many experts as potential candidates for nationalisation in return for a taxpayer funded rescue package. Aside from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is already 70% owned by the UK government...
Read More