New banking reforms hit the marketplace today
The 1st November will forever be remembered as the pivotal day in the future make-up of the UK consumer banking industry after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) took control. The FSA has replaced a number of voluntary banking codes which have been in place for many years but which ultimately gave overall power to the banking institutions and banking associations. So what does this mean for UK consumers?
There will many changes to the old system which will include easier switching of bank accounts, quicker money transfers between bank accounts and further protection for UK consumers with regards to banking investment tools and other investment opportunities. Interestingly, the FSA has now deemed that UK banks are not able to automatically assume a customer is liable for any fraudulent activity because a valid PIN number or password was used. We should also see far quicker reimbursement of funds withdrawn without a customer's knowledge with the onus now transferred to the UK banks to prove why they might need to investigate further and withhold funding in the short term.
The changes above are literally the tip of the iceberg and over the weeks and months ahead there will be many more new systems and new processes introduced to the UK banking arena, hopefully all in the name of consumer protection!
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