It’s been reported this week that some of the major banks may challenge the recent court ruling which said the OFT can investigate and influence the fees they charge for overdrafts. The banks make an estimated £3.5 billion per year from charging customers who go overdrawn without permission. An appeal could lead to a decision being delayed for months.

Even if you go a few pounds overdrawn without authorisation you can get stung by big fees which far outweigh the cash you needed in the first place. With Wonga.com you’ll be able to access instant cash in the form of a short term loan, which you pay pack on a date that suits. We’ll calculate the full cost of the loan up front and, unlike an overdraft, you’ll repay the cash within a set time frame.

It’s been reported that financial giant HSBC has lost a server containing the personal details of over 150,000 customers in Hong Kong. It’s the latest in a seemingly never-ending string of reports about ’secure’ files going walkabout. It’s not so long ago that the bank also lost the details of more than 350,000 British life assurance customers and it’s not the only high profile organisation to come under fire for poor security.

If you have ever been the victim of such a security lapse, or fear your personal details may have been compromised in another way, you should keep a close eye on your bank statements and bills. Watch out for any unfamiliar or unusual transactions and report them to your bank, building society or service provider straight away. You can also get advice on protecting your identity from potential fraudulent use at CIFAS.

When we launch the Wonga service we will naturally be committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of customers’ information - by using electronic and procedural safeguards that meet or exceed industry standards.

An article on thisismoney.co.uk paints another gloomy picture of Britain’s economy today, with poor growth in the services sector and a dissapointing bank holiday weekend for retailers…

“There was also grim news on the High Street in the wake of a miserable bank holiday weekend for retailers in London and around the country.

“Exclusive research for the Evening Standard by SPSL showed Saturday was particularly bad in the capital, with shopper numbers down 3.8% on the equivalent day last year.

“Retailers fared slightly better on Sunday when footfall was down 0.8%, but the improvement could not hide the pain on what was seen as a vital weekend for struggling stores.”

Consumers are certainly starting to feel the pinch in a very real way. The rising cost of gas, leccy, petrol and grub, plus uncertainty over housing and tightening of lending criteria by banks are all contributing. It’s a sensible time to minimise your long-term credit commitments as far as possible - credit cards, overdrafts and bank loans.

It’s worth making a list of what you owe, who you owe it to and what the repayments are. You should also make sure you find out the early repayment terms of any such commitments and work out if you can reduce some of the balances or even pay off a loan ahead of time without being penalised.

Although it’s easier said than done, it’s worth cutting down on any luxuries in the short-term if it means you might be able to reduce your outstanding debt during turbulent times. Use Wonga’s budget tool to assist you.

A recent BBC article highlighted new figures from CIFAS, the UK’s fraud prevention agency, which show that more people are lying in applications for loans and credit cards in the hope of covering up a poor credit history…

“Lies on application forms have risen by 13% from 19,239 in the first three months of 2007 to 21,780 in the first quarter of 2008.”

“The most frequent lie, according to CIFAS, was failing to disclose a previous address where the applicant had a poor credit history.”

It’s never a good idea to withhold information, or use misleading information in any application for credit. Not only is it fraud, but providers of financial services share information and any such record would seriously damage your ability to gain credit in the future.

If you are concerned about your credit history then the best thing to do is order a report from one of the major credit agencies, such as Call Credit, and seek advice about how you can improve it. Prevention is always better than cure, but you’ll find plenty of webistes offering tips on steps you can take.

Here are just a few examples: Thisismoney, uSwitch, TimesOnline and MoneySavingExpert.

After a six-month delay, it looks like fast cash transfers between bank accounts, known as Faster Payments (FP), should be available from the end of May. It’s the beginning of the end for the Bemuda Triangle of the banking world.

Until then, everytime you move money between different accounts the cash ends up hovering between banks for three days - a ‘clearance’ delay. The only way to transfer cash the same day is through the Clearing House Automated Payments System or CHAPs. This costs a lot of money for individuals and is really aimed at businesses-to-business transfers. And even CHAPs has limitations, with a cut-off point each afternoon for same-day cash transfers and no service during weekends and bank holidays.

So the arrival of FP will not only mean faster cash transfers for you and I, but will also allow Wonga to pay loans to customers within minutes - no matter what day of the week or time of day it is. The only downside to FP is that not all banks and building societies will be taking part to begin with and you’ll need to be with a participating bank to make use of the scheme. Thirteen of them have signed up so far, with most of the major ones included, but hopefully it will become available to everyone in the not too distant future.

The new court ruling on banks and the whopping fees they charge for unauthorised overdrafts has been widely reported in the media this week. The final outcome is still not certain, but it has put the issue firmly back into the public eye.

One of the main arguments against the scale of the charges is that they can be imposed regardless of how far punters go over their limit. For example, you could be hit by a fee of more than £30 for going £50 into the red for just a day or two. It goes to show the true cost of accessing instant cash in an emergency.

Wonga is planning to provide a fairer alternative. You’ll still need to pay for the speed and convenience of an instant loan of course, but you’ll be able to choose exactly how much you want to borrow and for how many days - with the full cost calculated for you up front.

As The Times reports: "The banks have until May 22 to decide whether to appeal. As they struggle with their own financial problems — as evidenced by Royal Bank of Scotland’s announcement of a £12 billion rights issue to cover a potential £5.9 billion write-down on its assets — the banks are thought unlikely to accept a judgment that could lead to billions of pounds being reclaimed. If the OFT concludes that the charges are unfair it could cap fees at a much lower rate than the £30 typically charged, costing the banks an estimated £10 billion more."

The cost of plastic is getting steeper according to money advice site Fool.co.uk. Here’s an extract from an article this week…

What’s more, the rates charged by credit cards aren’t affected by base-rate cuts. Indeed, there’s a huge disconnect between credit-card interest rates and the base rate. Put simply, whatever happens to the base rate, credit-card issuers like to keep their interest rates high!

In fact, according to Fool partner Moneyfacts, card interest rates have increased noticeably since April 2006. Two years ago, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) forced card issuers to cut their late-payment fines to a maximum of £12 per offence. Some card firms were charging fines of £20 to £25, so they lost a vital source of revenue.

Predictably, credit-card issuers fought back by raising their charges elsewhere. In the past two years, the average interest rate for purchases was 14.9% APR. Today, this stands at 16.4%, which is 1.5 percentage points higher, or an increase of a tenth (10%). Thus, a level balance of, say, £3,000 would have cost £447 in interest two years ago. Today, the yearly interest bill will be £492, or £45 a year more.

Of course, if you always pay your monthly credit-card bills in full, then rate rises won’t affect you one bit. However, if you rely on your credit card to subsidise your lifestyle, then things are looking increasingly grim. Worst hit are cardholders who withdraw cash on their credit cards. Using credit cards to get cash is always a bad move, because you pay:

• 1. a withdrawal fee for every cash advance (via cash machines or over the counter);
• 2. interest from day one (there is no interest-free period for cash); and
• 3. interest at sky-high rates.

We agree that credit cards can be expensive for borrowing cash. But what can hit you harder is the ongoing cost if you fail to pay off your balance at the end of the month. Plastic can be handy but staying on top of your balance is always down to personal discipline. With a short-term Wonga loan, you’ll be able to access fast cash that you repay within 30 days - on a date that suits - so you only pay interest for the period of the loan and then it must be repaid when you promise.