Digital banks pull ahead of high street rivals in battle for consumers’ wallets August 17, 2021 Digital banks are pulling ahead of their traditional high street rivals in the battle to deliver strong customer services, according to findings from the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority found that Monzo, Starling Bank and First Direct are the top banks for customer service in Britain. The CMA conducted a survey of 1,000 [...]
Pandemic stretches gender pension gap to nearly £200,000 August 11, 2021 Women’s retirement prospects and savings have been dragged down by the pandemic much more than men’s, widening the gap between their pensions pots by almost £200,000. On average, the difference between the average pensions of women and men aged over 55 widened to £184,000 in in the last year – up £26,000 on 2020, according [...]
Pensions group Royal London sees managed assets hit a record £153bn high August 5, 2021 Pensions and life insurance firm Royal London’s assets under management have hit a record high at £153bn in the past six months. Climbing higher from £148bn in late December, the group put the growth down to positive market movements and net inflows in the six months to 30 June. The group pulled in profit before [...]
Exclusive: Islamic fintech founder Junaid Wahedna on why the UK market is firmly on his radar July 28, 2021 The market for Islamic fintech is growing globally, and in the UK. Last month the Boubyan Bank Group announced that the world’s first Islamic international digital bank will be launched in the UK. The global Islamic fintech market is estimated to reach $128bn by 2025, a 161 per cent increase from 2020’s figure, according to [...]
London shares left buzzing after PensionBee hits £2bn in managed assets July 22, 2021 Online pensions provider PensionBee has racked up £2bn worth of pensions under management, which has sent shares flying over six per cent. The app said its assets under management had surged 117 per cent to over £1.9bn in the six months to 30 June. The pensions surge, up from £915m worth of assets in the [...]
Exclusive: Two City lawyers on a mission to make their fintech the ‘Amazon of Islamic finance’ July 19, 2021 Islamic Finance Guru (IFG), a UK-based Islamic finance platform, has closed an investment round led by Outward venture capital, as the market for Islamic fintech grows. The UK-based startup has raised £3m from Outward VC and B&Y Venture Partners. The news come just a week after the Boubyan Bank Group announced that the world’s first [...]
Lenders set to increase interest-free periods on credit cards July 15, 2021 Households could be offered longer interest-free periods on credit cards over the summer, according to a survey of lenders. Banks and building societies also anticipate that mortgage availability to households will rise, according to the survey published by the Bank of England. The Bank’s Credit Conditions Survey is carried out every quarter to help it [...]
Online fraud up by a third during the pandemic July 15, 2021 Online fraud has risen by a third during the pandemic as almost all everyday activities went digital, according to a consumer rights group. The number of cases of fraud reported to UK police unit Action Fraud cost consumers £2.3bn last year and had affected over 410,000 victims, according to analysis by consumer rights group Which? [...]
Retirement group Phoenix enters £197m pensions deal with Irish Life July 13, 2021 Retirement group Phoenix is set to sell Ark Life Assurance Company to pensions group Irish Life for around £197m, the retirement group today. Ark Life Assurance Company, known as Ark Life, added around £1.8bn of assets under administration to Phoenix’s heritage division as of 31 December. The deal, which is expected to be completed by [...]
Payouts may be given to families to offset higher gas bills under new green government plan July 9, 2021 Families may be provided with cash payouts to offset the cost of higher gas bills under a new green government plan. Whitehall advisors have been discussing plans to compensate households for the more expensive gas bills which will arise from the government push to reduce carbon emissions. The proposals will be aimed at encouraging households [...]