HSBC and Santander are to refund their customers after they both failed to comply with the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) rules.
The Retail Banking Market Investigation Order came into force in 2018 after the CMA found a number of competition problems in the personal current account and the SME banking markets.
During the investigation, HSBC was found to have broken Part 6 of the order. As a result, it will refund a total of £8m to 115,000 customers. Santander was also found in breach of the same protocol; however, it has not disclosed how many customers were impacted and how much it will refund them.
Part 6 of the order ensures customers receive text alerts before banks charge them for going into an unarranged overdraft, giving them time to act and avoid any charges. Both banks failed to send these alerts.
These refunds paid by HSBC and Santander cover all fees incurred by customers from going into unarranged overdrafts.
Last year, HSBC was fined by the South African Reserve Bank $1m for failures in AML and CTF compliance. The bank had reportedly had weaknesses in their relevant processes.
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