Increased bank account access eases money woes

29/06/2009

More and more low-income Brits are able to open a bank account, the government has shown in a new official report.

The Treasury announced that Department of Work and Pensions figures show that the number of people who don't have access to an account has dropped from 2.8 to 1.85 million over the past five years.

Not having a bank account can lead to increased financial problems for many people.

For example, access to cheaper online and direct debit gas and electricity tariffs is denied to this group - forcing them to seek out more expensive prepayment meters instead.

Commenting on the report, Angela Knight at the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said: "These figures show we are moving closer to the goal shared with the government to halve the number of adults without a bank account."

Kevin Still, EuroDebt director, commented: “Financial inclusion or social exclusion, the fact is that nearly two million don’t have a bank account and many more are facing high charges whenever they exceed overdraft facilities or have a direct debit or cheque returned. Many of these people qualify as being in genuine financial hardship, as laid down in the Banking Code. People need access to basic banking facilities and payment methods that allow them to take advantage of the cheapest purchasing channels like the Internet and over the phone.

"Transaction charges for basic things like paying in money and withdrawing cash should either be free or just cover the actual transaction fees to the ATM network. As EuroDebt works almost exclusively with people in financial difficulty, we have decided to launch a pre-paid current account with fees that are totally transparent and that is available to all UK residents.”

The BBA's own statistics show that around 145,000 'first step' post office accessible accounts were opened between January and March of 2009.

Tags; Debt Management and Banking, Young Family Finances, Credit Card Lifestyle,

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