Banking
Most people need access to a bank or building society account to spend and manage their money, but some people with a learning disability and their families find it difficult to open an account. Our financial advocates have lots of experience supporting people with banking and can help people to open accounts.
Our banking report
We have also done some research about access to banking. For the research we spoke to people with a learning disability, families, support providers, banks and other organisations to help us understand their experiences. We wrote a report about what we found and you can find further information below.
The main problems found within the report were about:
- Mental capacity
- Proof of identity and proof of address
- Access to money
- Consistency of service and information
Our guide to banking
Following one of the recommendations from the report, we made a guide to banking. This tells people with a learning disability, families and support teams what banks should be doing, how to get support and how to deal with problems. It also talks about banking laws, the Equality Act and Mental Capacity Act.
As well as the main guide, there is a short help sheet that you can take with you when visiting a bank. It will remind you about what to say and what to ask for when you are in the bank.
Work with us to improve access to banking
We are committed to improving financial inclusion for all. We are working with a number of banks and building societies, as well as the Financial Conduct Authority, UK Finance and British Bankers’ Association to make banking more accessible for people with a learning disability. We also deliver training around banking for advocacy groups, family carers and support providers. Please contact us if you would like to work with us to improve access to banking, or would like to talk to us about training for your group.
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