Research by country: United Kingdom

 

Financial Conduct Authority Research

“Message received? The impact of annual summaries, text alerts and mobile apps on consumer banking behaviour” – a study looking into the effectiveness of different methods of banks’ communication with their customers on managing current account charges, fees and account switching:  http://www.fca.org.uk/news/occasional-paper-no-10

 “Consumer Vulnerability” – a study into how financial services firms treat customers in vulnerable circumstances: http://www.fca.org.uk/news/occasional-paper-no-8

 “Applying behavioural economics at the Financial Conduct Authority” – research into how the application of behavioural economics can help understand and solve problems in retail financial markets: http://www.fca.org.uk/your-fca/documents/occasional-papers/occasional-paper-1

Financial Conduct Authority Guidance

In 2013 the FSA (FCA’s predecessor) published guidance on how firms should manage the risks to their customers arising from financial incentive schemes: http://www.fca.org.uk/static/pubs/guidance/gc12-11.pdf

Financial Conduct Authority Thematic Review

A recently published study on how the UK’s high-cost, short-term loan providers (otherwise known as ‘payday’ lenders) collect debts and treat customers who are experiencing financial difficulty. The review found unacceptable practices from many lenders, including failures to recognise customers in financial difficulty, failure to direct people to free debt advice and firms offering inflexible repayment options.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/payday-lenders-failing-customers-in-arrears-says-fca