Money Box

It's been a turbulent week for the mortgage market - as lenders adjusted their rates amid fears of a rise in inflation and what that will mean for interest rates. Average mortgage rates for a 2 and 5 year fix tipped above 5% for the first time since the summer this week, and they've been climbing since. In just a few days time the Bank of England will make its next interest rate decision, but a cut which had been widely anticipated two weeks ago, is now incredibly unlikely. Around 1.8 million people are to come off a fixed mortgage this year, and have some difficult decisions to make - what should they do?
Victims' charities have criticised a long awaited and much delayed fraud strategy published earlier this week by the government. Ministers have described it as a "major upgrade to Britain's defences" with £250mn pounds to be invested over the next three years.
On Thursday a £100 cap on contactless card payments in the UK is being scrapped. The Financial Conduct Authority is giving banks the freedom to set their own limits, and in theory they could even remove the cap altogether. But it turns out many banks are not planning to change the limit at all, at least for now - why?
This week the Bank of England announced that British wildlife will replace historical figures on the next series of Bank of England banknotes. We asked Wildlife TV Presenter & Campaigner Chris Packham to tell us his ideas - from lapwings to foxes.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Bisi Adebayo
Researcher: Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast 12pm Sat 14th March 2026)

Just seven days has passed since the USA and Israel began their attacks on Iran. As the attacks become heavier and more destructive, the ripples of war are already spreading around the globe. There was an immediate jump in the price of oil and gas, now worsening, as processing plants and facilities are attacked and transport routes disrupted. Petrol prices at the pump have been creeping up too and are expected to rise further. Money Box listeners have been asking what it could mean for the price of gas, electricity, heating oil and filling up their car.
A listener had more than £300,000 stolen from her in an investment scam. What can be done to catch the criminals who robbed her?
And by the end of the month there should be an official free scheme to claim compensation for missold car finance. How will it work?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researcher: Amber Mehmood
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 7th March 2026)

Millions of people in their sixties will now wait up a year longer before they can claim their state pension. From Easter Monday the current state pension age of 66 will gradually increase over the next two years until it reaches 67 affecting everyone born on 6th April 1960 or later. How will it work for those affected?
Rent arrears, council tax debt and unpaid utility bills are the main reason more than 400,000 people in Britain are homeless. A new report by the Centre for Homelessness Impact published next week sets out ways to reduce or even end homelessness. What does it recommend?
Millions of drivers are in line for hundreds of pounds of compensation for mis-sold finance deals. We'll have 5 top tips on who gets what and how to claim.
And there are some tax changes from Monday as well, we'll round up what's happening to dividends and inheritance tax.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Sarah Rogers
Researchers: Catherine Lund and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast 12pm on Saturday 4th April 2026)

The number of emergency hardship loans issued to former civil servants who are facing long delays for pension payments is "pitiful" according to a senior MP. Clive Betts, the deputy chair of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, has told Money Box the loan system is "not adequate" after figures published for the first time earlier this week show fewer than 600 have been issued - compared to many thousands of people who are missing money. The Cabinet Office says an urgent recovery plan is underway and its immediate priority is to stabilise the service. Capita have previously apologised for the delays.
Nearly one in five adults now use Buy Now, Pay Later - instead of paying the whole cost upfront with a debit or credit card you can spread the cost interest free over three or four monthly payments. At one time it was young people driving the rise. But some new research from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol (commissioned by the Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust) suggests Buy Now, Pay Later is now spreading to older people. The number using it in their forties and sixties has grown by a third, with the biggest rise in the last two years among people in their fifties with the number using it up by half.
And, as a rare Pokémon card sells for 12 million pounds at auction - what's the appeal for collectors - and what should you think about when buying them?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researcher: Jo Krasner and Niamh McDermott
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson
(First broadcast Saturday 28th February 2026)

Claims management firms have been warned by regulators to treat their customers fairly over compensation claims for mis-sold car finance. The financial regulator is set to announce its own free-to-use scheme for the millions of people who could be due compensation because the car finance deals they signed up to were mis-sold.
Private claims management firms, which have already taken on many claims, can take as much as 40% of any compensation eventually paid out.
The warning from the regulator includes telling consumers to guard against large charges to pull out of their claim, so-called exit fees, if they wish to switch to the free scheme.
And, if you've been shopping online recently you may have been asked to eschew your usual credit-card payment in favour of a new way to hand over your money: pay by bank. By cutting out the credit or debit card middlemen, you'll be saving the retailer some cost from payment fees. But what's in it for the online shopper - apart from having to put up with weaker consumer protection?
Also, the savings and investment divide between those who are, and aren't, using the tax-free benefits of a junior ISA and the new figures which show how online scammers are targeting those who are trying to improve their personal finances.
Photo credit: Tim Goode/PA Wire