Current accounts, housing, ISAs and tax avoidance

Consumers are getting better value for money from their current account and benefiting from a more competitive market, according to a new report from the Social Market Foundation published today. The report, A switch in time: The evolution of Britain’s personal current account market, supported by Bacs, has found a 17 per cent fall in bank revenue from personal current accounts over the past eight years – a sign of increased competition in the personal banking market. Most consumers are now paying less for their accounts and receiving more back from their banks through higher interest rates and other bonuses such as cashback on purchases. The savings available through switching have also increased for consumers. Whereas in 2006 the average consumer could have saved £56 a year by switching to the best value account, this figure has more than doubled to £116 in 2016.

Sophie Guibaud, VP of European Expansion at Fidor Bank, said: ‘Today’s report is to be welcomed and shows how the idea that a bank account is for the long term has been challenged by consumers in the past number of years.’

Housing

Activity in the UK housing market has ‘settled down’ after a Brexit surprise, surveyors say, with sales and prices expected to rise in the coming months.