And finally…Royal Bank puts freeze on cancelled cards

The new feature launched at Edinburgh Zoo with the help of the zoo’s penguins who were intrigued to find their enclosure containing ice sculptures of frozen credit cards. Edinburgh Zoo is home to a number of penguin species including King, Northern Rockhopper and Gentoo, it was the first zoo in the world to breed King penguins.

The bank’s Mastercard credit card customers can use a lock/unlock feature on the Royal Bank award winning mobile app which instantly freezes the card. The main benefit to freezing a card is the ability to reactivate it if found later. Often customers know where their card has been left but to prevent fraud cancel it. Customers can now prevent anyone else from using it until it is back in their possession, saving the need to wait for a new card to arrive in the post if cancelled.

Martin Wise, Royal Bank of Scotland, head of short term borrowing, said: “This new service gives customers even more control in managing their credit card. It will not only be more convenient for customers but will help reassure a card is safe and secure even when out of sight.”

Kelly Devine, head of card issuing at Mastercard, said: “We all lead such busy lives and it’s easy to sometimes mislay your card. That moment when you realise your card is missing is worrying, even if you know that it hasn’t been stolen. We wanted to help customers address those security fears and give more convenience, so we are helping Royal Bank deliver functionality that will resonate with customers.”