Banking

New currency card texts owner when travel money runs low

Holidaymakers and overseas travellers need no longer risk running out of foreign exchange, thanks to a clever currency card which sends its owner a free text message alert when it runs low on money.

Keep your festival cash safe this summer

With the current trend in overseas festivals, more and more music lovers are heading abroad, tents in hand, to one of the many international music festivals.

Abbey International revamps fixed rate deposit contracts

Abbey International has revamped its range of limited offer fixed rate deposit contracts to now offer clients a range of options from nine months out to two years.

Why go offshore with your savings and banking accounts?

Each year according to the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), around 400,000 UK nationals move abroad to work or retire. Opening an offshore savings account could bring significant tax benefits, once they cease being UK resident for tax purposes.

Bank of England maintains interest rates at 0.5%

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain UK interest rates at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion.

Hung parliament sends sterling to gallows

After months of speculation, it appears that the pollsters have called it and the UK looks set for a hung parliament.

Sterling falls to 12 month low as hung parliament beckons

Sterling nosedived in trading this morning after reports suggested that no main political party had been able to establish a sufficient majority and that a hung parliament was the likely outcome of 2010's general election.

Mutuals lead on customer service says Skipton International

Mutual Building Societies have outperformed the UK's banks in a number of areas of customer service, new research has revealed. The verdict comes shortly after five unnamed institutions were criticised for poor customer service practices by the UK Financial Services Authority.

Euro plummets to fresh lows against basket of currencies

The euro's woes continued this afternoon after it plummeted against a basket of currencies, tumbling to a 14 month low against the US dollar ($1.2738), a 6 month low against the British pound (1.1846) and a lifetime low against the Swiss Franc (1.4147).

Main test to sterling will come after the election

Sterling has been buoyed this morning against the euro as investors shy away from riskier assets, concerned over the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Despite the risk of a hung parliament outcome in the UK polls tomorrow, there has been little pressure on the pound this morning.

British holidaymakers loosen the purse strings

While less Brits have taken holidays abroad so far this year , volumes of foreign currency have increased, indicating renewed confidence in consumer spending when travelling abroad, according to the latest American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services Currency Index.