The FCA has published Consultation Paper 15/24: Cash savings remedies (CP15/24).

CP15/24 follows the publication in January 2015 of the FCA’s findings of the cash savings market survey. In that survey the FCA found that the cash savings market is not working well for many consumers and proposed remedies in four areas: disclosure; switching savings accounts; convenience of savings with different providers; and transparency of interest rates paid to longstanding customers.

In CP15/24 the FCA summarises the feedback that it received to its proposed remedies and how it intends to take them forward. In particular:

• the FCA consults on some of its proposed disclosure and switching remedies. The FCA is testing the effectiveness of the other disclosure remedies through randomised controlled trials and, subject to those, currently plan to consult on these proposals near the end of the year;
• the FCA is working with industry to deliver seven day switching for the vast majority of cash-ISA transfers (except for those involving the very smallest providers), from January 2017;
• the FCA will take forward the convenience remedy through implementation of the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) from 2017. The FCA expects firms to move towards implementing PSD2 requirements as quickly as possible in time for the 2017 implementation date; and
• the FCA intends to trial publishing information on the lowest interest rates firms pay on open and closed easy access and easy access cash-ISA savings accounts. It will trial publishing this information for 18 months during which time it will evaluate the remedy’s effectiveness.

The deadline for comments on CP15/24 is 12 October 2015.

View CP15/24: Cash savings remedies, 23 July 2015