Pocket money... BA extends Covid vouchers again

⬤ British Airways has again extended the expiry date of travel vouchers issued during the pandemic, giving travellers until 30 September 2024 to use them, says The Mirror. This is the third time that BA has put back expiry of the vouchers, reflecting the fact that large numbers remain unused.

When international travel largely shut down in 2020, BA and other airlines offered the option of a voucher instead of a cash refund when flights were cancelled. Many customers took this option, in part because the process of getting a voucher was much easier than claiming a cash refund.

IAG, the parent of BA, Iberia, BMI, Vueling and Aer Lingus, said last month that it still has €600m in vouchers. Some travellers have complained that vouchers are difficult to use and the prospect of many expiring worthless has become increasingly controversial.

BA customers who took a voucher between March and November 2020 after their flight was cancelled can still swap it for cash. Those who accepted before cancellation don’t have this option – they must spend it before expiry.

⬤ Digital banks – those that only offer services online – account for 8% of the UK banking market, but 26% of accounts frozen by the police or the tax office recently, says The Sunday Times. Almost £18m in assets in 162 accounts at digital banks and e-money firms have been frozen since October (e-money firms offer services such as payments but don’t have a banking licence).

The National Crime Agency is reportedly concerned that criminals are favouring digital firms because they make it quicker to open accounts and move money abroad, while the Financial Conduct Authority has said that a “willingness to service high-risk customers” and flaws in money-laundering controls made some firms “a target for bad actors”.

⬤ Coventry Building Society is struggling with demand from savers for several top-paying accounts, says the Daily Mail. The building society offers 3.3% on easy-access savings, so long as withdrawals are limited to six per year; 3.25% on a flexible Isa with the same limits; 4.12% on a one-year, fixed-rate Isa; and 4.4% on an Isa for existing members only. However, Mail readers trying to open accounts by phone report waiting 30 minutes (most rates are also available online).