FINANCIAL INCLUSION

LENDING STANDARDS BOARD INCLUSION IN BUSINESS BANKING & CREDIT: DISABILITY & OTHER ACCESS NEEDS

Working alongside The Lending Standards Board in the formulation of ‘The Inclusion in Business Banking & Credit: Disability & Other Access Needs’ report, The Disability Policy Centre assisted in the provision of evidence and testaments for consideration.

Alongside this we provided best practice responses for business banking providers to support disabled customers and customers with long term health conditions.

We are committed to working alongside organisations for the delivery of improved financial inclusion, ensuring security of the highest standards of customer care and the promotion of accessibility.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated an already fast-moving shift towards digitalisation, with personal contact and face-to-face meetings disintegrating. From the way we work to the way we shop, the ‘new normal’ that we live is set to be hybrid, as all of us move further and further into the online world.

1 in 5 people in the United Kingdom are disabled or have a long-term health condition, which is over 20% of consumers. This movement, in relation to personal banking, has unarguably removed many of the barriers which disabled people and people with long term health conditions faced. It has enabled some to easily interact and communicate with their banks, no longer tied to having to make in-person visits to their local branches. Digitalisation has on one hand provided a catalyst to the improvement of accessibility. 

However, this digitisation has also created a chasm of barriers, with continued inherent failures to acknowledge and implement digital accessibility for all.