POUND NOTES
FINANCIAL FACT
THE share of mortgages being handed out to first-time buyers increased in the second quarter of 2018, figures from the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority show. The share of first-time buyers has increased to 21.4% – up 1.8 percentage points on the previous quarter.
DEBENHAMS HAS LAUNCHED ONLINE BEAUTY CLUB COMMUNITY
DEBENHAMS has launched a new online “beauty club community”, where people can chat about beauty topics and trends as well as building rewards. Users can earn points and recognition for their contribution to the forum, according to Debenhams, who say it will be an “authoritative, fun and social space for beginners, enthusiasts and experts”.
HALIFAX RELAUNCHES £1,000 CASHBACK MORTGAGE OFFER
HALIFAX has relaunched a £1,000 cashback offer for first-time buyers, home movers and re-mortgage customers who complete on a qualifying mortgage by November 4.
Customers moving their mortgage to Halifax can also benefit from Halifax’s dedicated re-mortgage switcher service and have their standard valuation fee and basic legal fee paid.
Andy Bickers, mortgages director at Halifax, says: “Our £1,000 cashback offer was welcomed by borrowers when we launched it earlier this year, so we have made it available again for home buyers and re-mortgage customers this autumn.”
BARCLAYS CUSTOMERS CAN VIEW THEIR OTHER BANK ACCOUNTS ON APP
BARCLAYS is to allow customers to see their current accounts from other providers on its mobile banking app – removing the hassle of logging in several times to see balances held with different banks.
The bank’s customers who also have a personal or business current account with Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, RBS, NatWest, Nationwide or Santander can now choose to “quickly and securely” view their balances and transactions when they log into the Barclays mobile banking app.
The free feature is being rolled out over the coming weeks to all Barclays UK personal current account holders. More banks will be added over the coming months, with further features to follow, said Barclays, which has over six million mobile banking app customers.