The UK government has launched its Financial Inclusion Strategy, including a pilot that will allow people experiencing homelessness to open bank accounts with Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide and Santander without a fixed address, in partnership with Shelter.

The Treasury said the national plan is intended to ensure financial services “worked for everyone,” with measures to help rebuild the credit scores of domestic abuse victims, support families with no savings and expand financial education in primary schools.

“This plan is about opening doors – helping people experiencing homelessness into work, helping survivors of abuse rebuild their credit, and helping families save for a rainy day,” said Lucy Rigby, economic secretary to the Treasury. “No one should be locked out of the chance to build a better future.”

Shelter will vouch for prospective customers based on its database and accompany individuals to branch meetings, expanding a model pioneered with HSBC that has opened 7,000 accounts since 2019. “Access to banking can help people receive financial support, pay bills, and find and keep a safe home,” said Lauren Thompson, head of corporate partnerships at Shelter. “Through our partnership with HSBC UK, pioneers in this space, we’ve supported over 7,000 people experiencing homelessness or housing difficulties to open a bank account.”

The strategy also starts work with credit agencies Experian, Equifax and TransUnion to review how credit scores can be repaired for victim-survivors of domestic abuse whose records were damaged by economic control.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of Surviving Economic Abuse, said: “This strategy provides a golden opportunity to help survivors rebuild their lives by restoring their credit scores. It’s one we must seize so that credit reports reflect victim-survivors’ creditworthiness, not the economic abuse they have experienced.”

Ministers will back payroll savings schemes to help the one in ten adults with no savings build resilience, and will inject financial education into the curriculum. The Department for Education said primary pupils will learn more about “fundamentals of money,” with secondary students taught key concepts such as calculating interest and additional literacy in a compulsory citizenship course.

The government is also supporting 350 banking hubs by the end of this parliament, restoring face-to-face services in towns that have lost branches.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives data highlights the scale of need, with millions reporting barriers to accessing products and services. StepChange welcomed the strategy, with director of policy Peter Tutton saying it offers “a once in a generation opportunity to offer meaningful, long-term financial resilience.”

---