UK money news stories - 21 August 2024

Customers rate digitals banks best for customer service

A poll by Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) found Monzo was deemed the best bank for customer service, with Starling second and Chase Bank in third. Monzo also came out top when it came to feedback on business accounts. The results aren’t too far off how you voted in Smart Money People’s own British bank awards, with Chase picked as the best British Bank, Starling as Best Banking App and Monzo as Best Business Banking Provider.

Wizz Air hides child tax refunds

An investigation by Be Clever With Your Cash found budget airline Wizz Air isn’t passing on the lower level of Air Passenger Duty to young flyers. The amount parents overpay works out as £13 per child on short haul flights out of the UK - but you can claim it back if you flew within the last two years.

UK citizens travelling to EU next summer will have to pay €7 visa-waiver charge

From May 2025 it’s likely there’ll be an extra charge for any trips to Europe, with a seven euro visa waiver required for entry to the EU from the UK. It’s a similar process to what currently exists for travel to the USA. Under 18s and over 80s will be exempt.

King Charles III £1 coin enters circulation

Three million new £1 coins have been released in the UK, the first to feature a monarch other than Queen Elizabeth II. These new designs have King Charles III on one side and bees on the other. You’ll still be able to use the old coins, as long as they’re the more recent version, rather than the older round pounds which left circulation in 2017.

eBay stops accepting American Express

You can now no longer use Amex cards for shopping on eBay, and there’s only a few weeks left before you won’t be able to swap Nectar points to use there either. You can still use Visa and Mastercard to pay, as well as PayPal - though watch out if using the latter as it breaks the Section 75 consumer protections you’d get paying direct with a credit card. You can look for alternative cashback credit cards on our sister site Becleverwithyourcash.com, or read customer reviews right here on Smart Money People.

Race for UK banks to repay £100bn in Covid loans could help savers

The Guardian reported that UK banks need to raise money to repay the government Covid loans that are still owed from customers. One way they could do that is to hike up interest rates on savings, which could potentially balance out rate cuts we’re seeing across most accounts following August’s base rate cut. You can find the top paying rates right now at Be Clever With Your Cash.