UK’s Vulnerable Lack Access To Payments

A recent report commission by the UK’s Payments Council has looked at the barriers that British consumers aged 80 or over and people with cognitive, sensory and physical disabilities face in accessing and using payment systems. The aim of the study was to explore how payment services can be made to work better for potentially vulnerable groups and to find ways to prevent the need for coping strategies such as sharing cards, PINs, or passwords for online financial services which can compromise consumer protection.

The main findings of the report point to the physical barriers to using ATMs in the UK. Most terminals are hard to reach, and are not prepared for consumers with physical disabilities such as visual impairment. Those who are worst affected, according to the report, are those living alone, the poor and the digitally challenged. While well-off, digitally literate consumers are able to use alternative non-physical outlets to manage their finances, a grand majority of isolated and poor populations simply cannot afford to.

Many have found ways to work around the difficulties posed by the payments system in the UK. Coping strategies include the sharing of cards and card details to allow others to facilitate cash withdrawal or shopping experiences. Many also choose to hand out their financial details to family members so they can act as proxy account holders. For example they give the example of a couple in their eighties who has given their card and bank details to their daughters who handle all their shopping and bills. However, these strategies can compromise the user’s account safety and can create the potential for abuse.

At the moment, most payment solutions in the UK force vulnerable consumers to remain dependent on carers or family. Nevertheless, the results of the study will be incorporated into the policy analysis carried out by the Payments Council to identify and develop new solutions to be delivered as part of the National Payments Plan (NPP). Existing NPP projects that will be influenced by the research include a comprehensive review of possible actions to improve access to cash and a review of the options for developing a new way of delegating payments.

Read the full report here.