The Week Unzipped: Registers of Scotland start talks on modernisation of land transactions

REGISTERS of Scotland has begun consulting on plans to upgrade the land registration system, including the completion of the map-based Land Register and powers to enable electronic land contracts and deeds.

The map-based, state-guaranteed Land Register, gradually replacing the much older Register of Sasines, now cover some 55 per cent of property titles but only around 20 per cent of the land mass of Scotland.

Sheenagh Adams, Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, said: "The proposals that we are now consulting upon would allow us to bring all land on to the Land Register and to make other improvements to ensure we can develop and maintain a modern, effective and efficient registration system, bringing simplicity and certainty to land transactions and thereby underpinning the Scottish economy."

Trackers launched

HSBC has launched two new mortgages aimed at first-time buyers, a tracker, which tracks at 3.69 per cent above the Bank of England base rate (currently 4.19 per cent) and a two-year fixed rate deal, which has a rate of 5.09 per cent. Both deals require a deposit of 10 per cent of the value of the property and like all the mortgage specials in the new range, has a fee of 99.

Cheques shunned

CONSUMERS are turning their backs on cheques, according to the latest figures from the Payments Council, while overall spending in the economy remains sluggish.

While total payments in the UK economy fell 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2010, cheque usage dropped by 21 billion, down 10 per cent compared with the same period in 2009. Every day 290,000 fewer cheques were written than the year before.

The use of debit cards and Faster Payments (for transferring money between accounts) took up the slack.

Debit card usage rose 8bn, up 12.4 per cent, while Faster Payments increased 17bn, a rise of 67 per cent.

Debit card usage also ate into cash payments. The amount of cash withdrawn from cash machines (a proxy for the amount of cash used for transactions) was 1.6 billion lower than in the second quarter of 2009, a decline of 3.2 per cent.

Credit card spending was also weak, rising just 3.9 per cent, barely ahead of inflation.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications, said: "The payments revolution continues apace in the UK. Cheque usage is shrinking dramatically, while credit cards hold less appeal for consumers and businesses. We use cash less where there is an easy alternative, but we're years away from cash falling out of fashion."

SAYE interest cut

HMRC has cut the interest paid on Save As You Earn (SAYE) Share Option Schemes (sometimes referred to as Sharesave).

It claims this is to maintain returns in line with other interest rates.

Three year schemes receive zero additional bonus, while five-year plans will be boosted by just 0.59 per cent, down from 1.16 per cent.

Seven-year schemes will attract an annual interest of 1.15 per cent down from 1.74 per cent.