- 5 updates
Post Office current accounts
The Post Office is to offer current accounts in the UK. Initially they will be made available in a small number of branches, before a wider roll-out next year.
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Current accounts 'key part' of Tesco Bank strategy
Tesco Bank are planning to follow the Post Office into the current account market in the future.
It has been widening its range of financial products with a push into the mortgage market last year, has also signalled its intention to enter the market after the new rules come in.
Changes to make it easier for people to switch current accounts are being introduced this September by the Payments Council.
They mean that incoming payments will automatically be redirected to the new account and the time it takes to fully change accounts will be cut from around 18 days to seven working days.
A spokesman for Tesco Bank said that launching a current account remains a "key part" of its strategy.
Post Office: Customers want current account 'simplicity'
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Post Office financial services used by three million
- Almost three million customers already use the Post Office's existing financial services across its network of over 11,500 branches.
- They include savings accounts, mortgages, motor, home and life insurance, credit cards, 2,100 cash machines and foreign exchange products.
Post Office to shake up current account market
News that the Post Office is to offer current accounts comes at a time when plans are afoot to make it much easier for people to switch current accounts and shake up competition in the sector.
In January, the Office of Fair Trading said the market was dominated Lloyds, RBS, Barclays and HSBC who held around 75 percent of the market.
This resulted in a market which lacked "competition" and "dynamism" from providers, said a report.
The Post Office has not as yet revealed details of what its current account will offer, but promised "simplicity, transparency and good value for money".
Post Office announces plans for a current account
The Post Office will launch into the current account market this spring, in its nearly 12,000 branches across the UK.
It comes as part of plans to beef up its presence on the high street as a major financial services provider.
The new account will initially be made available in a small number of the Post Office's network, with the potential to make it much easier for customers living in rural communities to access their money.
Plans will be outlined fully in the next coming weeks, including which branches the account will initially be made available before it is rolled out nationwide.