Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the UK who do not have an active bank account.

The Government does not make direct assessments of the number of bank accounts. The Financial Conduct Authority conducts a biennial Financial Lives Survey, which provides a comprehensive insight into the finances of the adult UK population. The latest findings showed that in February 2020, 97.7% of UK adults had a current account or e-money account, with 1.2 million UK adults being ‘unbanked’.

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’s why the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are not eligible for a bank’s standard current account. As of June 2021, there were 7.2 million basic bank accounts open in the UK. The Government continues to work with the banking sector and other key stakeholders to identify and address any potential barriers to accessing bank accounts.