2020

Halifax is overhauling its popular Reward current account from 1 June 2020, boosting rewards if you can jump through some hoops, including having to tell it which reward you want in advance. But despite the better perks, many will actually be better off switching – read on to find out why. The Halifax Reward account is currently fee-free and offers a £2/mth reward each month you pay in at least £750, pay out two or more direct debits and stay in credit. From 1 June, the cash you can earn with the account is going up, but Halifax is adding a £3/month fee for some and making the criteria for getting the rewards tougher. If you're an existing Rewards customer and you opened your account before 13 March 2020, you have to sign up by this Friday if you want the new rewards – do nothing and you'll instead be automatically downgraded to a new fee-free current account offering no perks. If you opened your Rewards account after 13 March, you have until 12 June to decide whether to opt-in. 

The Government's furlough scheme will be extended to the end of October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. The scheme was previously only set to run until 30 June.

Hundreds of angry customers have hit out at airport parking site Holiday Extras after it changed its usual refund policy and sent them vouchers rather than refunds for cancelled bookings.

Mobile phone operator O2 and broadband giant Virgin Media are planning to merge and create one of the UK's largest telecoms firms, their parent companies have announced. But the plans have yet to be approved and the merger likely won't take place until the middle of next year at the earliest, so if you're a customer with either firm there's no immediate impact.

Hundreds of people have told MoneySavingExpert.com that they have been rejected by HM Revenue & Customs' eligibility tool for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), despite believing they fit the eligibility criteria.

The Government's furlough scheme now funds the pay of almost a quarter of UK employees, new figures show.

Investors who lost £1,000s with the collapsed bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF) will start hearing whether they're eligible for compensation for claims relating to 'misleading advice' later this month.  

NatWest's app-only bank account Bó is to shut down – less than six months after it launched.

Insurer LV is giving its customers with car and motorbike policies the chance to claim a refund of between £20 and £50. But unlike Admiral's recent flat-rate refund to customers, you'll only be eligible for money back from LV if you've been financially affected by coronavirus in specific ways.

Lifetime ISA holders who withdraw money from their account will effectively face no penalty until next April, after the Government announced changes to its rules.