28/07/2017
Firms offering business and personal current accounts will be required to publish specified information about their services, under proposals to implement one of 5 recommendations for action by the Financial Conduct Authority in the retail banking market report published by Competition and Markets Authority in 2016.
‘Information about current account services: CP17/24’ identifies that the following information would be required in a format easy to access and compare and available for comparison firms and others as well as consumers —
- how long it takes to open an account and have features of the account working, including overdraft facilities
- how long it takes to replace a lost, stolen or stopped debit card
- how long it takes to give someone access to a personal current account under a power of attorney
- how and when customers can carry out various transactions, including making payments or cancelling a cheque and whether 24-hour help is available
- the number and type of major operational or security incidents
The information would be measured quarterly, beginning in April 2018, and be published within 6 weeks of the end of the quarter. Standing information about service availability would be published and kept up-to-date.
The current consultation will help to determine whether FCA aims for the first publication of the information in mid-August 2018.
The FCA proposes that firms should publish the information on their website, with firms that are part of the Open Banking initiative also having to make it available via an application programming interface (API).
The other 4 recommendations from the CMA to the FCA are intended to
- encourage consumers to consider ‘their banking arrangements’
- increase transparency for overdraft users
- deliver a more competitive market for small businesses
- promote innovation by encouraging delivery of an Open Banking solution that delivers benefits for consumers