To wonder how the £1.7 million people in the UK without a bank account manage?

[marymarkle]

According to moneysavingexpert, £1.7 million people in the UK do not have a bank account. I found another source that said £1.5 million.

AIBU to wonder how these people manage their lives?

www.financialinclusioncommission.org.uk/facts

[Bumblebee39]

Benefits can be paid to the individual. Who's housing is covered by housing benefit paid directly to the landlord. Bills and debts can be deducted from benefits if need be. There are meters for electricity/gas.

People can be paid cash in hand. There partner or family etc. May pay the rent/mortgage. They may give them cash towards bills etc. They can use the cash to purchase the items they need. Food, clothing etc.

Person A can have their salary/benefits/pension paid into person B's account who then gives them their money. Person B or somebody else again may pay their rent Etc. Or they may have been bought or inherited a property outright.

None of these people need a bank account.

And that's before you get into homeless people. Who may live on the streets, sofa surf or live in hostels. They may claim benefits and/or beg, sell the big issue, busk for money etc.

I don't think drug dealers or thieves always need bank accounts either.

I think the answer is "they live their lives differently to you"

[MadisonMontgomery]

My friend dated someone who didn’t have a bank account - he was paid cash in hand and lived with family. I think he had a bad credit history, but it made his life a lot harder - he was taken advantage of at work because he was off the books, so he had no real rights, he paid a lot more in rent than he would have paid a landlord etc.

[BudgiePie]

@treaclesoda nearly all the usual high street banks are in northern Ireland. They all have similar ID requirements and they all have an "exceptions" process for those that do not/cannot get the right ID. If she already has a current account with a bank she 100% can have a savings with them too and she has already been identified as a customer in general with that bank not just for that specific account. Unfortunately you've done that thing of complaining about a topic on a forum without checking any of your assumptions in real life. I have worked for various high street banks and building societies so if you need any further advice just ask.

[newnameforthis7]

Makes me wonder too. Feels like we need a bank account for everything really. @marymarkle Just report your original post to mumsnet, if you want them to edit your title (to say 1.7 million without the £ sign.)

[BudgiePie]

@Biggerknickersagain a few high street banks now offer "basic" bank accounts they have full facilities including contactless debit cards online banking etc and they're designed for people from the worst credit (bankruptcy) upwards. They also have the added benefit of no fees and no possibility of going overdrawn. So no fees there Either. Great news for yourself or anyone else you know in need of a decent account with poor credit history.

[marymarkle]

BudgiePie That is unnecessary.
And yes banks offer basic accounts, but lots of people say that banks have lied to them when they have tried to open one.

[BudgiePie]

Basic bank accounts for anyone who may be interested

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/basic-bank-accounts#fee-free-basic-bank-accounts

[BudgiePie]

@marymarkle

What's unnecessary? A basic account? Maybe so but just thought some people might find it useful.

[marymarkle]

Moneysavingexpert is good for advice on these issues.
But yes if you are homeless you would not have the ID required to open a bank account.

My gran if she was still alive would not have been able to manage a bank account either. So makes sense when reading more about this to find out that it is mainly the very poor, those with substance abuse issues, mental health issues or very old that are most likely not to have a bank account.

[treaclesoda]

Unfortunately you've done that thing of complaining about a topic on a forum without checking any of your assumptions in real life.

No, I haven't. I have contacted my local banks in person and asked them and they said no. And the one that she currently banks with will not allow her to have another account with them because her current account dates back 50 years to when no ID was required, therefore she is not considered to have identified herself adequately at any stage.

[marymarkle]

BudgiePie Your sarcasm was unnecessary.

Unfortunately you've done that thing of complaining about a topic on a forum without checking any of your assumptions in real life.

She did walk down the High Street and ask in the banks. You are implying she is stupid. She is not.

[treaclesoda]

nearly all the usual high street banks are in northern Ireland

Not in the sense of having branches in towns. Maybe in Belfast, but not elsewhere.

[BudgiePie]

ok huns cheery bye

[treaclesoda]

And ironically I spent 10 years working in a bank, and that particular bank were very rigid, no exemptions.

[Birdsgottafly]

My Mum had the issue of I. D. She got a letter from her GP stating that her Bus Pass was her, as well as Bills/Birth Certificate.

Older people don't realise that they can use their Bus Pass (if they have one of course).

My next door neighbour has been able to open her own account via identifying as her deceased DH's Wife. She has had to have the help of her Adult children to manage money. She's only in her early 60's. She wanted to use her DD's account but her DD didn't want to do that.

My DD's Friend can only have a Post Office basic account, at present because of a fraud conviction.

I immediately thought of those not capable of having their own accounts. That must be a large proportion of people.

[Biggerknickersagain]

@BudgiePie

Yes, I think possibly they've realised that people having to pass a credit check to gain access to their own money with absolutely no risk of getting in debt to the bank was a little ridiculous.

Good news it's become a more regular thing with banks now, as I said this was a couple of years ago now.

Banks pushing people to go cashless and shutting local branches but then refusing to issue the cards you need to be cashless, while your ability to get hold of cash is just going to make people in that situation stop using banks, not the opposite. Good they've come up with a sensible solution to that.

[ReflectentMonatomism]

Banks pushing people to go cashless and shutting local branches but then refusing to issue the cards you need to be cashless,

It isn't the banks. The banks couldn't care less who you are, and as far as they are concerned would issue bank accounts to Mickey Mouse if they didn't have an associated overdraft, and would issue a normal account to Mickey Mouse if Mickey had a credit history. They don't need to tie transactions to named individuals, just to financial entities who will give them their money back.

No, the push to endless "know your customer" requirements is imposed on the banks by the government, via the regulators, for money laundering reasons. Old ladies who need a bank account upon becoming widows are collateral damage in the eyes of government. And, to be fair, if old ladies who need a bank account upon becoming widows were able to open accounts without formalities while everyone else had to provide ID, they would themselves become targets for laundering.

But lay with blame at the correct doors. The banks couldn't care less about ID, within limits. The strict requirements have come from government. See also ID checks for workers and tenants: government.

[Biggerknickersagain]

@ReflectentMonatomism

If you read my first post you'll see I already had a basic account, and that was fine until the local branch closed - with the ATM. Only other ATM is in a shop and runs out fairly fast. I applied to upgrade the account so I could have a debit card and they wanted me to pass a credit check, which I couldn't. I already had the account, they knew who I was, they weren't asking for id, they already had verified who I was. They wanted a credit check to access my own money, I still don't know why - no overdraft or loan or credit at all, a debit card declines if you don't have enough in your account. If they hadn't backtracked then I'd be someone without a bank account now.

[Kazzyhoward]

They all have similar ID requirements and they all have an "exceptions" process for those that do not/cannot get the right ID.

Indeed they do, but the problem lies with the front end staff who either don't know, or don't understand their employers' exceptions process. A lot of people will just walk away when they're rejected rather than escalate the issue upwards to staff who know what they're doing. Same old problem of poor front line staff!

[Kazzyhoward]

No, the push to endless "know your customer" requirements is imposed on the banks by the government, via the regulators, for money laundering reasons.

More like the banks own internal processes devised be people who have misunderstood the regulations, or the regulators who have misunderstood what the law actually says.

How else can you explain the massively varying "proofs" accepted by different banks. If it was really "the law" specifying the detail, then all banks would have the same rules. In reality, some of the regulators/banks are making up their own rules, often far in excess of what the law actually requires.

It's exactly the same with the old "Elf and Safety" - even the Health and Safety Executive themselves (i.e. the regulatory body) bemoans people blaming ridiculous rules on Elf & Safety!

I'm an accountant. We have to follow identity proving and anti money laundering rules too. There's so much crap told from our professional body, insurers, regulators, etc., it's quite pathetic. Eg, at first we were told it was obligatory to actually physically meet all our clients - complete bullshit - the law doesn't say that at all, and when challenged, the regulators backtracked pretty quickly!

[badlydrawnperson]

RE: ID - every year there are stories (it's cropped up on BBC Money box a lot) of this causing issues with front line staff just point blank refusing none-photo ID, so it's not unreasonable for someone to cite this as a problem.

[sar302]

There are lots and lots of people living without a permanent address and / or ID for various reason - you cannot open a bank account in the UK without both of these things.

There is an online bank (I think it's Monzo?) that is working to address this issue, through things like Face ID and offering limited cash access - so around £250. Meaning that when people in these circumstances are able to find a job, they are able to provide an employer with bank details, then they get an income, and with an income they can hopefully find a stable address and ID, which then means they can have open access to a full bank account as usual.

It's a start.

[sar302]

Although not sure how you get the money on mine if you only have cash to start with...🤔

[sar302]

On line ffs!

[Basecamp65]

I think not having a bank account is different to not having access to a bank account. I know several people who use their partners account or have a separate account that only they use but it is in the name of their partner or parent.

When my daughter won some money as a teenager I put it into an old savings account I had but no longer used - she had a cash card and when she got a job she had her wages paid into it and then used it throughout university. It did not cause any issues whatsoever. she had no issues with ID as she had a full driving license and a passport

It was only when she was 25 and got a mortgage that she opened her own account. There was no reason just simply never found the need to make a special journey to the bank to open her own account - so she did it when she happened to be there getting a mortgage.

I suspect she would have continued with my old account indefinitely otherwise. But has always worked and lived a very normal life.