Banking

Time is running out to check down the back of your sofa for any soon-to-be-discontinued paper £20 and £50 notes. There are only 100 days left before they become invalid but the latest figures from the Bank of England show there are almost £15 billion-worth of notes still around. 

Barclays has announced another round of bank branch closures, with 15 more outlets set to shut by the end of the year. The latest closures mean Barclays will close 55 branches by the end of the year. Below we list the branches disappearing and what the alternatives are if you still want face-to-face banking. 

The Bank of England has increased base rates to 1.25% from 1% after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted in favour of a rise. The base rate is used by the central bank to charge other banks and lenders when they borrow money – and influences what borrowers pay and savers earn.

Marcus customers who have a savings account or cash ISA can get a bonus rate of 0.25% added to their accounts for 12 months BUT only if you activate it – below we explain how to do so.

Thousands of Nationwide customers whose debit cards expire at the end of this month have been sent replacement cards that don't work.

A technical glitch has left hundreds of Chase customers unable to transfer money out of their accounts. Payments were frozen this week, with several users waiting hours and even days for money to transfer. 

Santander says it has fixed a technical problem that saw customers facing delays with certain payments going in and out of their bank accounts for most of today (1 June). The bank says it will reimburse any associated fees or charges incurred as a result. See below for all you need to know.

HSBC has today (1 June) made its temporary Covid-19 opening hours permanent across its UK branch network. The move means a cut to hours at 122 branches based on their pre-Covid levels, with 26 of these outlets seeing opening hours fall by more than 30%. However, 148 branches will get a 30-minute boost to opening times. 

Barclays Bank has announced a further round of branch closures, with 27 more outlets set to shut by the end of August. Below we detail which branches are impacted and alternatives if you still want face-to-face banking. 

New powers will be given to the financial regulator allowing it to fine banks that fail to protect consumers' access to cash. Here's what's happening.