As of November 1, the Banking Code Standards Board will no longer be responsible for the regulation of the way banks and building societies do business with their customers. This job of regulation has now been taken over by the the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

According to the FSA, anyone that has a bank account or is a debit, credit or prepaid credit card holder will be affected by these changes which have impacted the rules governing the administration of accounts and transactions.

Summary of Changes

• banks and building societies that offer various type of accounts such as instant-access savings accounts and current accounts need to provide customers with at least 2 months notification before they reduce credit interest rates or increase overdraft rates.
• By January 1, 2012, at the latest, all electronic transfers must be completed by close of business the following day. Most banks will have to do this straightaway although some will use existing loopholes to make the changes by the deadline.
• The same rule applies when transferring cash into a different currency
• In case of losses due to fraud where a PIN has been used, the bank now has to prove that the customer behaved in a deliberate manner to encourage fraud, or was careless or undertook certain activity that caused the fraud to occur or will have to refund the customers account. Furthermore, the refund has to be completed within a few days and can no longer take forever.
• Banks need to provide greater transparency and need to give customers all the information they request with regards to these accounts at the outset
• In the case of overseas transfers and foreign exchange, providers now need to provide customers with greater detail on the costs, exchange rates and time taken to complete transfer before they use the service.

Find out more about prepaid cards as a genuine alternative to bank accounts
Visit the FSA to find our more about the changes and how you may be affected or visit our unbanked prepaid cards section to find out more about prepaid cards that represent a genuine alternative to bank accounts.