Charities want banks to extend offer of services

A group of charities is urging banks in the UK to extend who they offer their services to, with officials from the charities stating that millions of people are being excluded from using banking services.

The appeal is being made by the Better Banking Campaign, which is a group of charities and local groups, who have said that there are millions of people who cannot access the services that the banking industry offers.
The group said that up to seven million people may be excluded from accessing services such as credit cards, loans, and overdraft facilities. Many of these people are then forced to take out loans from unscrupulous loan sharks or doorstep lenders that charge a fortune in interest. Many take out payday loans, which they then have to pay back within a short period of time, leading to them facing spiralling debts month on month.
According to Treasury officials there are around 1.75 million people that do not even have access to basic bank account services.

An official from the campaign said that it was ‘deplorable’ that banks, particularly those that were funded by the taxpayer having been bailed out, were failing to provide services to the businesses and consumers that were most in need.

He said: “Most people believe access to bank accounts and affordable credit are basic rights, so we want to see this as a priority for all the political parties.”

The group said that as a result of having no access to basic banking services and finance some people were having to pay interest rates of around 2500 percent a year on loans that were not from traditional banks and lenders. The results of a recent study that involved polling one thousand people also showed that 70 percent thought having a right to financial services should be a basic right.

Tags: basic banking services, Payday loan, Credit card, overdraft, Better Banking Campaign