Banking

The Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a new three-year Government-backed investment bond open to everyone aged 16 or over in today's Autumn Statement. The bond will launch in spring 2017.

Furious Think Money customers have been locked out of their accounts since the end of last week after issues with the banking provider's IT system upgrade sent online services into meltdown. About 100,000 customers have been affected and if you've lost out you may be able to claim compensation.

If you're a Barclays current account holder and haven't yet signed up to its Blue Rewards scheme, then you can earn at least £55 in your first year if you join by 30 November – and it's now tax-free. But the scheme's not a reason to switch to Barclays, or even to stick with it.

Tesco Bank says it restored normal banking facilities for its 136,000 current account customers by Tuesday night and insists it has now refunded about £2.5 million to the 9,000 victims of fraud identified following Saturday's major hack. If you bank with Tesco, don't assume it's all been put right – we explain your rights and what to check.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today announced it will help make current accounts more open and competitive by developing a range of prompts and alerts for customers to review their bank account choices and overdraft use.

Eligibility checks for travel insurance sold as part of packaged bank accounts have improved after the introduction of stricter regulations, according to the financial watchdog, but more must be done to improve checks for other forms of insurance.

Just over 1% of the 70 million active current accounts in the UK were switched in the first nine months of this year – although thousands more people switched banks than in the same period in 2015.

The last bastions of decent interest rates - high interest accounts - are disappearing fast. Lloyds, First Direct, HSBC, M&S and TSB have all followed Santander's lead and decided to cut their rates, either immediately or in the next few months. Plus Halifax has also slashed its monthly reward.

Three of the country's best-paying current accounts will dramatically cut the interest and rewards they pay millions of customers early next year, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal, as banks continue to slash headline rates on their top accounts.

A pioneering voice recognition security system introduced by First Direct is failing to recognise some account-holders, with a number of customers left furious after being wrongly locked out of their accounts.