By UK Government

Financial inclusion and financial capability continue to be priorities for us personally and for our departments. As the UK moves towards its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, being “financially included” remains of central importance throughout peoples’ financial lives, from the basic necessity of being able to open your first bank account, to accessing credit, insurance, and the right mortgage products at an affordable price, and when planning for retirement.

Over the last year, we announced and delivered significant further work on the financial inclusion agenda. We consulted on how we protect access to cash, published a consultation on regulation of Buy-Now Pay-Later products and are bringing forward legislation to enable credit unions to offer a wider number of products and services. A particular highlight has been the launch of the £3.8 million No-Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) pilot with Fair4All Finance. The NILS pilot will help consumers in financially vulnerable circumstances who struggle to access affordable forms of credit and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of this important initiative. All this has been achieved against a backdrop of considerable uncertainty.

We are delighted to continue working with members of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, who have provided us with invaluable soft intelligence on the impacts of the pandemic. Their ongoing, insightful contributions in Forum discussions have in particular, supported us in understanding the barriers to accessing contents insurance for low-income renters.

We also continue to work closely with the Money and Pension Service (MaPS) to support people’s financial capability and provide free-to-consumer guidance for individuals, whatever financial difficulties they are facing. MaPS will also launch delivery plans in each nation for their UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. They will co-ordinate this 10-year strategy, working with a range of organisations, to bring
together efforts to contribute to our common goal of doing all we can to help people from all backgrounds manage their money well.

We are immensely grateful to firms, the Financial Conduct Authority, members of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, consumer organisations and frontline staff across the financial services industry for all their efforts in working towards our shared goal, that all people, whatever their income or background, can access appropriate and affordable financial products and services.

We remain committed to reducing financial exclusion in communities across the UK and strive to do more to support individuals as the economy continues its recovery from the pandemic over the next year.

Source: @Asset Publishing