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Communications with account holders will have to be fair, clear and not misleading.
The FSA believes banks have been generating too many complaints about poor service and that the old system of self-regulation was not good enough.
Now, banks could be fined if they break the rules.
New regulations will put banking customers "in the driving seat" by setting down clear standards that people can expect from their institution, said Dan Waters, the FSA's director of conduct risk.
These include things like speeding up payments between accounts, adequate notice of changes in terms and conditions, and smoothing the procedure for querying an unauthorised or unexpected transaction.
"If firms fall short of these standards or fail to treat their customers fairly, the FSA will take action," he added.
'Full information'
Previously, banks regulated themselves through a body called the Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB) which, crucially, did not have the power to levy fines for any breaches of its rules.
|  The big thing is a requirement of overall fairness 
Ray Cox, QC
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The new rules cover the day-to-day handling by banks and building societies of their customers, though not when they have unsecured loans, overdrafts or credit cards - those are still regulated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The FSA's rules will cover the savings and instant access accounts of bank customers, notification of interest rate changes, unauthorised transactions, and direct debit payments.
The regulator said this would ensure, among other things, that customers:
• received full information on services and polices before they signed up for them, not just afterwards
• would be told well in advance of any changes to the terms and conditions of their accounts, such as disadvantageous changes to interest rates
• would be refunded money lost through an unauthorised transaction, unless there is a good reason to investigate the situation
• would be credited with interest on current and instant access accounts as soon as money is received by a bank.
Ray Cox, QC, a leading banking barrister, said the new rules - outlined in the FSA's Banking Code of Business - represented an important change for the banks.
"The big thing is a requirement of overall fairness, which the banks had always resisted," he said.
"They had more detailed rules which they said amounted to fairness."
'Big psychological shift'
The changes have received the backing of the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
"UK banks have supported statutory regulation so the move of the old Banking Code to the Financial Services Authority is something we are behind," it said.
"The British Bankers' Association, the Building Societies Association and the UK Cards Association will now sponsor a refocused industry watchdog, the Lending Standards Board, which will oversee the operation of new industry standards - the Lending Code - which covers the credit and debt elements of the old Banking Code. "
Earlier this month, UK banks agreed with the OFT that they would, by 2011, make their current account charges clearer and make it easier for customers to switch accounts.
These changes will include an annual summary of account charges, and will make it easier for people to switch direct debit payments from an old account to a new one.
Ray Cox, said the new rules should bring about a big change in attitude by banks.
"Banks didn't have to worry that their FSA designated regulator would be on the phone to them about their charges," he said.
"This will lead to a big psychological shift in banks as they will know the regulator is taking a close interest."
Alistair Darling blueprint to end the banks’ casino culture
BANKERS’ contracts could be ripped up by City regulators and their banks fined under tough new powers designed to prevent another collapse of the financial system.
Alistair Darling, the chancellor, will publish legislation this week that includes curbs to prevent the “casino” activities of the banks.
The financial services bill, to be introduced in the Queen’s speech on Wednesday, will hand fresh responsibility to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to clamp down on bankers pocketing excessive bonuses or even to cancel pay packages that encourage too much risk-taking.
Darling said last night that his bill would give the FSA “powers, if necessary, to tear up contracts that would result in payments being made that would cause instability”.
From next year, the chancellor will impose “living wills” on banks to ensure they can be wound down without disrupting the entire financial system and forcing taxpayers to step in. These, together with action to boost capital requirements and end risky remuneration practices, are intended to prevent a repeat of the crisis of last autumn when Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS came within hours of collapse.
Darling remains angry with the banks for their failure to change their attitudes and behaviour. “They just don’t get it,” he said last week.
This week’s bill is also intended to address public outrage over bonuses. “We will ensure that the banking crisis we have experienced over the past two years should never again come at a cost to the taxpayer,” Gordon Brown said last night.
“This means a transformation of the way the financial sector is policed, with banks themselves, and not the taxpayer, made to pay for bank failings.”
The bill will grant new powers to consumers to take American-style class action suits against firms that mis-sell pensions, mortgages or other products. Currently there is no legal right for groups of individuals to mount joint legal actions.
The FSA will be given powers to bring banks and other institutions to account if it receives a group of similar complaints about alleged sharp practice. Ministers hope that in the future fewer consumers will need to resort to legal action.
The bill will contain a provision outlawing the use of credit card cheques. The FSA will also be required under law to establish a separate consumer education agency, following claims that the regulator had been failing to inform people of the potential pitfalls of different financial products.
This will lead to the establishment next year of a free nationwide financial advice service funded by the banks. Ministers hope it will mean investors and borrowers will no longer have to rely purely on the biased advice of banks and financial advisers who are trying to sell particular products.
The financial services bill will beef up the existing tripartite system of City regulation — the Treasury, Bank of England and the FSA — with a new Council of Financial Stability. But Darling sought to dismiss the fear that new rules would drive financial services firms out of the country.
“We want London to remain the world’s foremost financial centre,” he said, “but part of that is to make sure there is a tough regulatory regime.”
The Queen’s speech will also include another Treasury-sponsored bill, the fiscal responsibility bill, which will enshrine in law a commitment to halve the budget deficit over four years.
The FSA is close to announcing a string of grandees who will join the watchdog’s crusade to police senior City appointments. Sir Dominic Cadbury and Sir Brian Pitman are two of the recruits joining the panel designed to vet senior banking appointments.
The approvals system for senior directors, including chief executives and chairmen, who hold a “significant influence function” has been tightened up by Hector Sants, the FSA’s chief executive, in the wake of the banking collapse.
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