Banking

Sainsbury's Bank's savings, credit cards and loans will be taken over by NatWest from 1 May. For most, this means little change for now as the Sainsbury’s brand will remain, though it's expected to be phased out towards the end of this year. However, if you've over £85,000 saved across both banks, you'll need to move any excess elsewhere to ensure your cash remains protected.

Our top-pick children's prepaid card will charge a £3 a month inactivity fee from 3 June if you fail to use your account in 12 months. But it's not an issue for most as you can easily avoid the new HyperJar fee. Here's how.

TSB will shut at least 12 of its 184 branches in 2025/26, including one newly-announced branch relocation. Below we list which branches are disappearing and what the alternatives are if you still want face-to-face banking.

Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, which are all part of the Lloyds Banking Group, will shut at least 254 bank branches in 2025 and 2026, after the Group announced a further two closures.

Santander will shut at least 95 branches in 2025, over one fifth of its entire UK network, after announcing closures for the first time in nearly four years. Below we list which branches are disappearing and what the alternatives are if you still want face-to-face banking.

If you bank with Nationwide, you could get a free £50 paid into your account next month as a one-off 'thank you' payment following the building society's takeover of Virgin Money. The bonus will be paid to over 12 million of Nationwide's 'members' with a current account, savings or mortgage product and is separate to the £100 'Fairer Share' scheme payment that could still come later this year.

If you're a Barclays Bank customer who's been left out of pocket due to widespread delays sending or receiving payments, here's how to try and reclaim any associated costs you've incurred. Technical problems at the bank first began on Friday 31 January and have rolled on for several days.

Chase is making a major change to its popular debit card from Monday 7 April, which will see it restrict the purchases you can earn 1% cashback on – including axing the perk on overseas spending. MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has branded the move "bad news" for customers.

The base rate has been cut to 4.5% from 4.75% by the Bank of England. This rate is used by the central bank to charge other banks and lenders when they borrow money, so the move can impact mortgage and savings rates.

The independent Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – which settles disputes between UK-regulated financial companies and consumers – has confirmed plans to start charging claims firms and other "professional representatives" to bring complaints from 1 April 2025. But you'll still be able to do this yourself for free.