The Passion Project Foundation is committed to full inclusion for all, be that financial or social.
The Foundation and its Centre of Excellence are currently working alongside the Passion Project to support the evaluation of a new set of financial products set to be released in coming months as part of the launch of the NEW BE Challenger Financial platform. (More details on this will follow).
The UK Government has a focus upon financial inclusion and furthering the public’s awareness of financial education and planning. It has publically stated that it is committed to building an economy where everyone, regardless of their background or income, can access the financial services and products they need.
Financial inclusion is designed to enable people to fully participate in the economy and empower them in achieving their goals in life, whilst offering them protection in the face of adversity. As part of this process the Government has set up a number of schemes alongside the drive for financial inclusion. The Help to Save scheme, launched in September 2018 is one such initiative with over 90,000 working people on low incomes have so far created an account, with the government offering a 50% bonus on deposits of up to £50 a month.
Financial Inclusion Commission – Aims and Objectives
In its report ‘Improving the financial health of the nation’, the Financial Inclusion Commission set out its vision for 2020 of –‘a United Kingdom in which:
- every adult is connected to the banking system, through having access to – and the ability to make full use of – a transactional account of his or her own;
- every adult has access when necessary and appropriate to affordable credit from responsible lenders;
- every adult is encouraged and enabled to save, even in small or irregular amounts, to show the importance of a common savings culture, to build up resilience against financial shocks and as an additional resource for retirement;
- every adult has access to the right insurance cover for his or her needs, at a fair price;
- every adult has access to objective and understandable advice on credit, debt, savings and pensions, delivered via the channel most suited to that individual;
- every adult and child receive the financial education he or she needs, starting in primary school and carrying on throughout life and into retirement; and
- government, regulators, the financial services industry and civil society all work together to deliver this vision, before the General Election in 2020, under the leadership of a Minister for Financial Health.’
Though the aspirations set out in the report are compelling, the industry has made little progress so far in achieving that vision. In its report ‘The financial lives of consumers across the UK’, published 20 June 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority shows that roughly 50% of adults in the United Kingdom show characteristics of potential vulnerability, which may be related to low financial resilience, a recent experience such as divorce or bereavement, low financial capability, or a health issue that affects day-to-day activities. The COVID-19 situation will have only exasperated this issue with implications likely to take the UK economy and those deemed most vulnerable financially into previously unchartered waters.
Several other features of the market in the United Kingdom are serving to increase this feeling of vulnerability. Examples of which are the continued loss of free-to-use ATMs and the increasing closure of local bank branches, which is soon to be followed by the reduction in services available through the Post Office as of 2021.
For more details on the launch of the BE Challenger Financial platform or our work in supporting financial inclusion please register for our newsletter or contact us using the link shown.
