{"id":122787,"date":"2026-07-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=122787"},"modified":"2026-07-10T01:17:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T00:17:22","slug":"dwp-bank-checks-could-affect-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/dwp-bank-checks-could-affect-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"DWP Bank Checks Could Affect Millions On These Three Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Millions of people receiving Universal Credit<\/strong>, Pension Credit<\/strong> or Employment and Support Allowance<\/strong> could have their bank accounts checked under new powers designed to detect fraud and incorrect benefit payments. The measures give the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)<\/strong> authority to require banks and other financial institutions to examine specified accounts against eligibility indicators, while placing strict limits on the information that can be shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Benefits Are Initially Covered By The New Checks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The new powers form part of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill<\/strong>, which introduces measures intended to identify benefit fraud and payments made incorrectly. According to the Swindon Advertiser<\/strong><\/a>, which reported on the scope of the measures, the rollout began during 2026 and initially focuses on three types of DWP payments: Universal Credit<\/strong>, Pension Credit<\/strong> and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The selection is not arbitrary. The DWP <\/a>says these are the benefits where incorrect payments are currently highest, making them the first targets of the new eligibility verification system. Other benefits could potentially be added later, but doing so would require parliamentary approval through affirmative regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One major exception is the State Pension<\/strong>. It is explicitly excluded from the power and cannot subsequently be brought within its scope through regulations. This distinction matters for millions of pensioners who receive the State Pension but do not claim Pension Credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The checks are designed to focus on bank accounts receiving a specified DWP benefit payment, as well as certain linked accounts that meet indicators established by the department. The measure does not mean every account flagged will automatically lead to a finding of fraud or an immediate change to benefit entitlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, information supplied by financial institutions may identify cases requiring further examination. Any subsequent enquiry or investigation remains the responsibility of the DWP.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"DWP
Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What Banks Can Actually Tell The DWP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The scope of the information that banks can provide is tightly defined. Under an Eligibility Verification Notice<\/strong>, banks and other financial institutions can be required to review accounts receiving specified DWP payments and compare them against indicators established by the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those institutions may provide specified account details, such as a sort code and account number, alongside certain information about account holders, including names and dates of birth. They may also provide specified details explaining how an account meets an eligibility indicator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rules do not give banks unrestricted permission to send the DWP a complete record of a claimant’s everyday spending. Transaction information showing individual purchases is outside the stated scope of the measure, and financial institutions could face penalties for sharing more information than permitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DWP also adds: “Any information shared through the Eligibility Verification Measure will not be shared on the presumption or suspicion that anyone is guilty of any offence.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That distinction is central to how the Government presents the system. A bank account meeting an eligibility indicator does not, by itself, establish that fraud has taken place. It can instead signal that a payment may need closer examination because a claimant’s circumstances appear inconsistent with the conditions attached to a particular benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For claimants, this means being flagged by the system is not equivalent to being found guilty of wrongdoing. Further enquiries would be required before any decision affecting entitlement or payments could be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u00a316,000 Savings Limit Could Trigger Further Scrutiny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the clearest examples concerns Universal Credit<\/strong> and capital limits. In general, a person cannot remain eligible for Universal Credit if they hold more than \u00a316,000 in savings or other relevant capital<\/strong>, unless the money falls under a specified exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gives an indication of how eligibility indicators may operate in practice. If information held by a financial institution suggests that an account receiving Universal Credit meets a relevant threshold, the case could be passed to the DWP for further examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the existence of more than \u00a316,000 in an account does not necessarily settle the question of entitlement. Certain forms of capital may be disregarded under benefit rules, depending on their origin, purpose and the claimant’s circumstances. This is why further investigation and human assessment remain part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system is intended to identify potential discrepancies at scale without treating every flagged account as evidence of deliberate fraud. This distinction is particularly significant because incorrect benefit payments can arise through claimant error, administrative mistakes or changes in circumstances, as well as intentional deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DWP’s stated objective is therefore broader than fraud detection alone. The legislation also targets error and overpayments<\/strong>, potentially allowing officials to identify cases that may otherwise have remained unnoticed for longer periods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New DWP powers allow banks to check accounts linked to three major benefits against eligibility indicators, with strict limits on what information can be shared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":112058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","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\/122787","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\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122787"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122791,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122787\/revisions\/122791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}