Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people who do not have access to a bank account.

The Financial Conduct Authority estimates that 1.1 million of UK adults (2.1%) were ‘unbanked’ in May 2022 – down from 1.3 million UK adults (2.5%) in 2017.

The government is committed to improving access to financial services and recognises that access to a transactional bank account is key to enabling people to manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely and confidently. That is why the Payment Account Regulations 2015 require the largest UK banking providers to provide fee-free Basic Bank Accounts to anyone who doesn’t already have a current account. As of 30 June 2022 there were 7,361,707 basic bank accounts open in the UK.

In addition, the Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of ‘de-banking’ more broadly. The FCA have agreed to undertake this review, and to share the evidence and findings with the Treasury. This will help inform whether further action is necessary to ensure nobody is being unfairly denied banking facilities.