While financial services firms are committed to supporting victim-survivors of economic and financial abuse, there is still more to be done to prevent it, UK Finance has said.

The comments come as the trade association, which represents over 300 firms in the UK, launches a new report calling for changes to help victim-survivors of domestic abuse regain control of their finances.

Economic abuse happens when an abuser restricts, exploits and sabotages their victim’s resources, such as mobile phones and transportation to maintain power and control, while financial abuse is a subset of economic abuse and includes the restriction, exploitation and sabotage of financial resources, for example by controlling the victim’s income or coercing them to take out a credit card or a personal loan.

According to figures from UK charity Surviving Economic Abuse, a staggering 5.5 million victim-survivors have experienced economic abuse in the past year alone, with the cost-of-living crisis increasing abusers’ opportunities for control.

The organisation's report found a number of key issues that it says the financial services industry and government bodies needs to tackle, including debit accrued as a result of controlling or coercive behaviour; separation of joint financial services products; and receipt of payments which are accompanied by abusive payment references.

Last year the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) developed an AI model for identifying digital payment transactions featuring offensive messages freely available to any bank worldwide.

The bank’s AI model, which is now available on source code platform GitHub, is designed to identify digital payment transactions which include harassing, threatening or offensive messages it refers to as “technology-facilitated abuse”.

In its report, UK Finance advises firms to carry out improved, victim-led prevention of economic and financial abuse through the development of an option to block payment references and by sharing best practice across Home Office, financial services, and the third sector to encourage victim-survivors to seek help.

The report also calls on banks and other financial services providers to implement a “Tell Us Once” service for victim-survivors to disclose abuse to multiple organisations to prevent them having to repeat themselves, as this can potentially put them in danger.

As well as this, UK Finance wants firms across financial services to commit to accepting the Economic Abuse Evidence Form, an information-sharing tool to allow qualified money or debt advisors to tell an organisation that someone has experienced economic abuse, and to carry out a review of how coerced debt is reflected on credit files.

UK Finance has also urged the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to take action by ensuring all victim-survivors can access professional legal advice, with clear standardised information on how to access it.

It says that Court Orders should clearly state that the Court can intervene where one party fails to comply with the Order or deliberately obstructs the process to continue the cycle of abuse, adding that the government bodies should develop a quick pathway for economic abuse prosecutions and explore how the financial services industry can support cases through the provision of evidence.

Additionally, the report has called for the offence of Controlling or Coercive Behaviour to be reviewed to prevent the abuser keeping the proceeds of their crime; The Consumer Credit Act to be reformed to provide guidance on how to split joint unsecured debt where there is no consumer agreement or Court Order; and for mortgage lenders to review their lending to allow a temporary and agreed adjustment when a victim-survivor is looking to become the sole borrower on a joint mortgage.

"Economic and financial abuse are horrendous acts, with consequences that can be life-changing, life-threatening and long-lasting," said Fiona Turner, head of vulnerability, financial inclusion and capability at UK Finance. "Financial services firms are committed to supporting victim-survivors and already have a wide range of support available."

She went on to say that the organisation's recommendations should help to further unravel some of the challenges associated with helping victims regain control of their finances.

"Coordinated action is needed to make sure victim-survivors get support, opportunities for control through financial products are closed down and perpetrators are held to account," said Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, chief executive and founder of Surviving Economic Abuse. "This important report sheds light on some of the obstacles faced by victim-survivors when trying to separate their finances from an abuser, often long after they’ve fled."

She continued: "Financial ties like joint mortgages or child maintenance payments sent with abusive messages, create an invisible chain to the abuser, preventing them from moving on and safely rebuilding their lives. We look forward to working with UK Finance, the government, financial services firms and the regulator to implement the learnings in this report and, together, stopping economic abuse forever."

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