Treasury Committee criticises Government’s “incomplete” Financial Inclusion Strategy: Positive Money response

London, 14 July 2026 - Positive Money responds to the Treasury Committee’s new report, which finds that the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy “is not a complete plan to tackle financial exclusion in the United Kingdom” and fails to show who is excluded, where exclusion is concentrated, why they are excluded, and which services and products people are excluded from. 

For more information or to speak to a spokesperson, please contact press@positivemoney.org.uk 

Sara Hall, Co-Executive Director at Positive Money, said: 

“The Government’s current financial inclusion strategy relies heavily on the benevolence of private banks to provide accounts for the unbanked, but Britain’s big banks are more interested in maximising gains for their shareholders than providing inclusive services for less profitable customers. 

“We can see this in the way banks close hundreds of thousands of accounts a year to avoid the cost of anti-money laundering compliance, how they’re pushing customers away from basic accounts, and their rampant closures of high-street branches.

“This is why we need more diverse models of banking - like building societies, co-operatives and mutuals - which are owned by their customers and therefore more sensitive to their needs and less profit-driven. They also return a cut of their profits to customers, which would boost the financial resilience of struggling households.”

Notes to editors:

• The Treasury Committee's full report can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/158/treasury-committee/news/214851/government-does-not-have-a-complete-plan-to-tackle-financial-exclusion/

• The FCA recently criticised banks for pushing customers away from basic accounts: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/banks-told-improve-access-basic-accounts