UK: Regulator tells banks to text customers to avoid over charge fees

Annual account summaries have failed to spur banking competition and the use of text messages and mobile device apps is more effective in changing behaviour of Britain’s middle classes, a top financial regulator said on Wednesday.

Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced new research showing that annual summaries had failed to persuade more people to switch banks and said the watchdog is now looking at new ways to increase the impact of information provided by banks to their customers.

“Statistical analysis … shows that annual summaries have no influence at all on consumer behaviour in terms of avoiding overdraft charges, improving balance levels or prompting switching between providers,” Wheatley said in a speech in Scotland.

However, text alerts and mobile banking apps seem to reduce the amount of unarranged overdraft charges incurred by customers, he added.

Full Content: Reuters

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