UK Banks Agree to Improve Access to Basic Bank Accounts

Nine UK banks and building societies have agreed to make basic bank accounts easier to open after a Financial Conduct Authority review found shortcomings in how some customers were served. The regulator examined 298 branch and telephone interactions.

It rated 34 percent of experiences as poor or very poor, with problems including failure to offer the accounts to people who needed them and directing vulnerable customers to online applications unsuitable for their circumstances. Basic bank accounts provide essential services such as receiving wages and benefits and making payments by debit card or direct debit.

They carry no overdraft facility and are intended for people who cannot open standard current accounts.

The banks have committed to offering the appropriate account on the first attempt, providing alternatives to online applications for vulnerable customers, and simplifying access for those without standard identification or a fixed address. More than four million people in the UK hold these accounts.

They are offered by Barclays, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money. Emad Aladhal, director of retail banking at the Financial Conduct Authority, said bank accounts are important for financial inclusion and that the changes aim to ensure people who could benefit are not missing out.

Peter Tyler, director of personal banking at UK Finance, said the industry recognizes that more can be done and pointed to an existing scheme with the housing charity Shelter to help people without fixed addresses obtain accounts.