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Banks to provide greater transparency over current accounts
Under the terms of a deal struck between banks and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), consumers will have access to more transparent and reliable information concerning their current accounts.
The new rules agreed upon by such financial service providers come after a consultation conducted by the OFT - which serves as the UK's consumer and competition authority - found a number of problems within the market.
Among the areas targeted by the body in response to the analysis were the transparency of costs to consumers and real and perceived difficulties over switching accounts.
One of the measures to be adopted by banks are annual summaries of the costs of their accounts for each customer.
In addition, information on average credit and debit balances will be provided to help people estimate the potential benefits of switching service providers.
John Fingleton, chairman of the OFT, said: "As consumers become more aware of the costs of their account and more confident in switching as a means to get better value, so banks will need to offer more competitive and innovative products and services."
08/10/2009 14:46
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