{"id":114889,"date":"2025-11-05T10:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=114889"},"modified":"2025-11-05T09:58:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T09:58:23","slug":"five-uk-banks-unite-to-end-hidden-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/five-uk-banks-unite-to-end-hidden-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Major UK Banks Unite to End a Hidden Crisis on the Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Access to financial services has long been out of reach for the country\u2019s most vulnerable groups, particularly those experiencing homelessness. By removing the requirement for a permanent address, the scheme targets one of the most significant barriers to social and economic reintegration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major UK Banks Partner With Shelter to Break Banking Barriers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The pilot, launched on 5 November, brings together <strong><em>Lloyds<\/em>, <em>NatWest<\/em>, <em>Barclays<\/em>, <em>Nationwide<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>Santander<\/em> <\/strong>in partnership with the homelessness charity <strong><em>Shelter<\/em><\/strong>. These five major high street lenders will now enable individuals without a fixed address to open <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/halifax-bank-warns-cash-withdrawal-limits\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"113298\">bank <\/a>accounts, a move designed to support their journey back into employment and housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditionally, opening a bank account in the UK requires proof of a fixed address, which excludes many rough sleepers and people in temporary accommodation. According to <em>Big Issue<\/em>, the scheme builds on a previous partnership between <em>Shelter<\/em> and <em>HSBC<\/em>, which since 2019 has helped more than <strong>7,000 people<\/strong> access basic banking through its <em>No Fixed Address<\/em> service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Every 12 minutes, a family in England becomes homeless. And for families stuck in temporary accommodation, life feels like it&#39;s on hold.<br><br>This winter, Shelter\u2019s advisers are there to answer every urgent call, giving someone to turn to and helping families fight for a safe home. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/terSO2ihfE\">pic.twitter.com\/terSO2ihfE<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Shelter (@Shelter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Shelter\/status\/1985295623298465944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">November 3, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the new programme, Shelter will vouch for applicants using <strong>internal data<\/strong> and will accompany them to appointments at local bank branches.<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/lucy-rigby\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Lucy Rigby<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, economic secretary to the Treasury, said the scheme is &#8220;<em>about opening doors \u2013 helping people experiencing homelessness into work<\/em>&#8221; and enabling their participation in both the economy and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Shelter\u2019s <em>Lauren Thompson<\/em>, the move is crucial. \u201c<em>Access to banking can help people receive financial support, pay bills, and find and keep a safe home<\/em>,\u201d she said. The initiative is part of a broader<strong> <\/strong><strong><em>Breaking the Cycle<\/em><\/strong> campaign to provide long-term support to those at risk of or experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Domestic Abuse Survivors and Financial Education Also Targeted in Wider Strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside the banking access scheme, the financial inclusion strategy outlines several measures aimed at increasing financial stability across vulnerable groups. Among them is a new effort to help domestic abuse survivors repair credit ratings damaged by economic abuse. According to <strong><em>The Guardian<\/em><\/strong>, credit reference agencies such as <em>Experian<\/em>, <em>Equifax<\/em>, and <em>TransUnion<\/em> will begin reviewing how victims\u2019 credit histories can be fairly reassessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The charity <em>Surviving Economic Abuse<\/em> welcomed the measure, noting that coerced debt is one of the most persistent barriers faced by abuse survivors. <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/samsmethers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Sam Smethers<\/em><\/a>, chief executive of the organisation, called the strategy \u201c<em>a golden opportunity to help survivors rebuild their lives by restoring their credit scores<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plan also includes financial education reforms targeting primary school children. According to the <em>Department for Education<\/em>, key concepts such as <strong>calculating interest <\/strong>and basic money management will be integrated into the curriculum, reflecting a growing concern that children are now financial consumers before secondary school age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another strand of the strategy focuses on payroll savings schemes, where workers automatically deposit part of their salary into a <strong>savings pot<\/strong>. Although popular among employees, these schemes have seen limited uptake due to employer concerns over minimum wage laws. The government now says it will provide the necessary legal clarity to facilitate broader implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Financial Conduct Authority<\/em> estimates that <strong>12.1 million people<\/strong> in the UK experienced difficulties accessing financial products between 2020 and 2022. With more than 11.5 million having less than \u00a3100 in savings, the strategy signals a significant attempt to tackle financial exclusion at multiple levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new pilot scheme backed by the UK\u2019s five biggest banks will allow people without a fixed address to open a bank account for the first time. The initiative, part of a wider government-led financial inclusion strategy, also aims to assist victims of domestic abuse in rebuilding their credit scores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":114891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114889"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114892,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114889\/revisions\/114892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}