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Financial inclusion report 2018-19 March 2019 Financial inclusion report 2018-19 March 2019 1 Contents i 2 Foreword This government 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 enables people to fully participate in the economy and empowers them to achieve their goals in life, whilst offering them protection in the face of adversity. In order to deliver this, we are working collaboratively across government and in close partnership with the financial services industry and civil society. This is why in November 2017 we established the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, bringing those key actors together to provide strategic leadership and promote best practice in tackling financial exclusion. This report highlights progress over the last year, and looks ahead at how the government plans to build on existing work over the next twelve months. important impact. In its first year, ideas developed by forum members on access to affordable credit have informed crucial government interventions. At Budget 2018 the government set out an ambitious vision for the affordable lending sector, articulating a long- term aspiration that all families can access affordable, responsible loans to meet their needs and coupled that vision with a package of measures to support alternatives to high-cost credit. This includes a feasibility study for a no-interest loans scheme, a prize-linked savings scheme pilot for credit unions and a 2 million fund harnessing UK fintech innovation to help social and community lenders. Improving access to affordable credit remains a key challenge and we will continue working with the sector throughout 2019 to deliver solutions. We particularly look forward to the work of Fair4all Finance, which was established to deliver 55 million from dormant assets towards financial inclusion initiatives over the next three years. The government also continues to work closely with the regulators and in particular the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create the right regulatory environment for firms to tackle financial exclusion. In 2019 the FCA will continue its work on the high-cost credit market, including on promoting alternatives to high-cost credit, and will launch a signposting service to support access to travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions. In addition, following the launch of its Approach to Consumers paper, the FCA will publish formal guidance for firms on how to treat vulnerable consumers and will use responses to its discussion paper on a duty of care to inform next steps in this area. We will also continue to monitor progress on existing government policies. Following extensive negotiations with the banking industry, in December 2014 the coalition government announced a new voluntary agreement current account providers in the UK to improve basic bank accounts. Since the start of 2016, these providers have offered 3 basic bank accounts under the terms of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015, which complements the 2014 agreement. These accounts are fee-free for standard operations, and do not allow the customer to go overdrawn. The government will also continue to promote the Help to Save scheme, launched in September 2018 following a successful trial. 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. Alongside financial inclusion, the government is taking significant steps to improve Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB) was formally launched in January. In 2019 we will work with its new leadership to develop a long-term national strategy to improve understanding of money, pensions and their ability to manage debt. The government will also continue work to roll out a breathing space scheme to give people in problem debt the opportunity to take control of their finances. This is a very ambitious agenda and we look forward to continuing to engage closely with the sector to find solutions to tackle financial exclusion. John Glen MP Guy Opperman MP Economic Secretary to the Treasury Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion HM Treasury Department for Work and Pensions4 Executive summary Financial inclusion Access to banking Government considers access to a transactional bank account key to enabling people to manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely and confidently. Research from the University of Birmingham shows that the number of the unbanked in the UK reached an all-time low in 2017 at 1.23 million. 1The latest government data shows there are 7.5 million basic bank accounts open with the nine largest providers of personal current accounts. 2In November 2017, the Economic Secretary wrote to the Chief Executives of UK Finance and Post Office Ltd asking them to consider how, working with the banks, they might further raise awareness of the banking services offered by the Post Office. This led to the launch of a Five-Point Plan in 2018, including trial publicity campaigns, signposting, an advertising campaign and collaboration with consumer groups. Affordable credit At Budget 2018, the government announced a package of affordable credit measures. These are designed to foster a larger, more vibrant social lending sector that can offer a real alternative for lower-income customers who may often only access high-cost credit. The FCA is conducting a review of the high-cost credit market, and has introduced a price cap in the rent-to-own market. It is also consulting on changes to simplify the way banks charge for overdrafts and tackle high charges for unarranged overdrafts, and additional protections for buy-now pay-later offers. Dormant assets The government has directed 55 million of funding from dormant accounts to be deployed towards financial inclusion initiatives by Fair4all Finance, which launched in February 2019. Savings The government is committed to supporting people at all income levels and at all stages of life to save, including those on low incomes. Following a successful trial, 1 Financial Inclusion Annual Monitoring Briefing Paper 2018 , September 2018. 2 Basic bank accounts: July 2017 to June 2018 , HM Treasury, December 2018.5 the government launched the Help to Save scheme in September 2018. Over 90,000 people have so far opened an account and 13 million has been saved. Insurance In June 2017, the FCA invited views on the ability of consumers who have or have had cancer to access travel insurance. In its feedback statement, the FCA committed to working with the insurance industry and consumer groups to help people with pre-existing health conditions access the insurance they need. In October 2018, new rules came into force requiring insurers and brokers to produce a short document that contains key product information about a policy, to make it easier for all retail (including vulnerable) consumers to understand what risks their insurance policy will protect them against and what is not covered. on consumers, including vulnerable consumers In July 2018, the FCA published its Approach to Consumers paper, which sets out eated by financial firms and where the FCA will intervene if things are going wrong. This paper also identification and treatment of vulnerable consumers, in order to provide clarity on its expectations of firms and to ensure good outcomes for all consumers, particularly vulnerable consumers. The FCA will use responses to its Discussion Paper on a duty of care to inform next steps in this area. In October 2017, the FCA published its first Financial Lives Survey. This was the first of a biennial large-scale survey designed to show how the financial circumstances of consumers, and their use of financial products, change over their lifetimes. The FCA will be carrying out its next Financial Lives Survey in 2019. Financial technology The government is currently working closely with industry to roll out Open Banking, a radical intervention that will allow consumers and SMEs to access a range of new and innovative products that better meet their needs, by providing third party providers with secure access to their current accounts. In January last year, the government launched the Rent Recognition Challenge, a 2 million competition challenging UK fintech firms to develop innovative applications to enable rental tenants to record and share their rent payment data with lenders and credit reference agencies. Six successful firms received funding. Financial capability Single Financial Guidance Body The Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 created a Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB) that is bringing together government-sponsored financial guidance and debt advice, previously provided by the Money Advice Service (MAS), Pension Wise and The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS). The SFGB formally launched in January 2019 and has also been tasked with developing and coordinating a national 6 manage debt and the provision of financial education for children and young people. Breathing space The government is implementing its manifesto commitment to introduce a breathing space and statutory debt repayment plan. The polices aim to give people in problem debt the opportunity to take control of their finances and put them on a sustainable footing. 7 Chapter 1 Financial inclusion 1.1 nclusion means that individuals, regardless of their background or income, have access to useful and affordable financial products and services. These include products and services such as banking, credit, insurance, pensions and savings, as well as transactions and payment systems, and the use of financial technology. 1The government has put in place a strong regulatory regime to ensure that markets are working fairly, and has given the FCA a clear mandate to protect consumers and consider access to financial services within its competition objective. 1.2 However, effective regulation is only one part of delivering the govern vision of a financially inclusive society. Too often it is the poorest and most vulnerable who pay the most for basic services. The government has a role to help them build resilience to financial shocks and support them when facing financial difficulties. Often this means government must intervene to deliver these outcomes, but it also requires working closely together with the financial services industry and civil society to achieve this in an effective and sustainable way. 1.3 Elements of financial inclusion policy fall within the remit of many government departments, which is why, in November 2017, the government set up the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, co-chaired by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The forum brings together government departments, the FCA, the financial services industry, charities and consumer groups. It provides leadership in tackling financial exclusion, monitors progress and ensures collaboration across government and with the sector. 1.4 Since the establishment of the forum, the government and the FCA, working collaboratively with industry and consumer groups, have taken steps to tackle restrictions and barriers to accessing financial products and services. The rest of this section sets out what the government and the FCA have delivered over the last year and highlights future plans. The section also covers the actions the FCA has taken to ensure vulnerable consumers of financial services are protected. Finally, it covers the g to promote the potential of UK fintech to develop solutions in financial inclusion. 1 Government response to the Financial Exclusion Select Committee November 2017.
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