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MSE News: Payment bounced? You'll soon have a second chance to avoid fees

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More banks set to adopt a 'retry' scheme from September where they attempt to process bounced payments again...
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Payment bounced? You'll soon have a second chance to avoid fees

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Payment bounced? You'll soon have a second chance to avoid fees

Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. If you aren’t sure how it all works, read our New to Forum? Intro Guide.
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Nanny State Gone Mad
In this day and age of, internet banking, faster payments, APS, text message alerts etc etc I don't see why people cannot take responsibility for their own finances and ensure that there are funds in any account that has a payment out due.
The trouble is the FCA and the banks can't make people budget properly, but they can help diminish the costs for people who fail to do so, or those who forget about a payment.
I never have any issues with bounced payments because I operate a buffer system like many of you, so there's always at least £5k between me and my overdraft in San 123, but I know that this is difficult for some.
A computer is supposed to do it automatically. And the one time cost of changing the software should be minimum.
Banks are updating theirs websites with stupid cosmetic changes that half of the time are worse than the previous version all the time. They could save way more avoiding them.
Or the "cost" you talk about are the "40 million/year in late payment fees"? Because then this would be people with enough money to be far from overdraft complaining because people unable to save at all is going to stop financing their high savings interest rates.
Have you any idea how much a 'simple' change to a computer programme costs, and on this size is huge. So not sure your figures are at all accurate. This does not even include beta testing, live testing, letters sent to clients who do have a second chance warning. All these things cost.
High savings rates? I am not sure if you have noticed the near zero BOE base rate over the recent years. Savings rates are far from 'high'. Sub inflation in most instances.
Both! There will be a cost to making this change and there will be an on going support cost of running this service even if it is only minimal.
Banks are not going to like losing a big revenue stream so will need to look at how else they recoup that lost income. It could be that they pull back on the high interest rates they currently pay but equally it could be restructuring other charges for example someone like the Halifax who charge £1 a day for going into an arranged overdraft up to a certain limit could up this charge to £1.50 or £2.
Controlling finances is a persons responsibility and whilst the FCA needs to protect consumers to an extent I see no reason not to charge someone who does not ensure money is in place in a account before a payment becomes due.
Free banking and the perks people who manage their finances well receive, high interest, cash back etc can only continue if people who do not act responsibly pay the price for doing so generate profit for the bank.
Fundamentally why should people who do not manage their finances well not pay the price for doing so and why shouldn't people who manage their finances well not be rewarded for it?
I am sure they kept the cost to a minimum but there is still the cost of defining the solution, the development, the testing, the update of procedures / processes / websites / people, the co-ordination with others in the industry (do you think it is by coincidence that 29 banks and building societies do this at the same time?), the commissioning of the software etc etc.