UK Banks to Improve on Providing Basic Bank Accounts (No Fees & No Overdraft) after UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Mystery Shopping Revealed Some Vulnerable Customers (Financial Hardship, No Standard Identification, No Fixed Address) were Directed to Unsuitable Online Applications & Standard Bank Accounts, 9 UK Banks are Required to Offer Basic Bank Accounts (Barclays, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB & Virgin Money)
8th July 2026 | Hong Kong
UK banks will improve on providing basic bank accounts (No fees & no overdraft) after UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) mystery shopping revealed some vulnerable customers (Financial hardship, no standard identification, no fixed address) were directed to unsuitable online applications & standard bank accounts instead of basic bank accounts. 9 UK banks are required to offer basic bank accounts (Barclays, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB & Virgin Money). Announcement (7/7/26): “People struggling should find it easier to access basic bank accounts, after nine banks committed to improving widespread poor practice identified by the FCA. Nine of the biggest UK banks and building societies are legally mandated to offer basic bank accounts. They exist to serve people who may not otherwise be able to access standard current accounts – providing access to essential services with no fees and no overdraft. A mystery shopping exercise by the FCA found a third of experiences with basic bank accounts rated as poor or very poor. The mystery shop revealed that the bank account providers were not consistently offering these accounts to customers who could benefit from them. This included people facing financial hardship or without standard identification, and especially those with no fixed address. The firms often failed to mention basic bank accounts at all and pushed customers in vulnerable circumstances towards online applications unsuitable for their needs.” More info below:
“ UK Banks to Improve on Providing Basic Bank Accounts (No Fees & No Overdraft) after UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Mystery Shopping Revealed Some Vulnerable Customers (Financial Hardship, No Standard Identification, No Fixed Address) were Directed to Unsuitable Online Applications & Standard Bank Accounts, 9 UK Banks are Required to Offer Basic Bank Accounts (Barclays, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB & Virgin Money) “
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To address this, the banks and building societies have agreed to individual improvement plans and we’ve worked with UK Finance to secure a collective commitment for the firms to:
- Provide the right account for customers, first time, with clear communication and minimal friction.
- Make it straightforward for customers without standard ID or a fixed address to open an account.
Spot vulnerability early and offer accessible alternatives to online-only journeys.
Notes:
- Read the mystery shop findings here.
- The nine banking institutions that are legally required to offer Basic Bank Accounts are Barclays UK, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands), Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group (including RBS and Ulster Bank brands), Santander UK, TSB and Virgin Money UK (now a brand of Nationwide Building Society).
- The mystery shopping exercise covered 298 interactions across branches and telephone. The exercise tested two scenarios: a person experiencing financial hardship with non-standard ID, and someone who had been through bankruptcy but had standard ID. Both showed characteristics of vulnerability.
- Across 298 mystery shops, the FCA rated 28% of interactions as good or very good, 38% as fair, 20% as poor and 14% as very poor.
- As revealed in the FCA’s Financial Lives survey, in 2024, over 97% of UK adults having a current account. While 4.3 million UK adults had a basic bank account, around 0.9 million adults were unbanked (they had no current account). The survey also found that in the two years to May 2024, 10% of the 1.3m adults who recalled applying for a basic bank account said they were declined.
- The FCA enables a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy. Find out more about the FCA.
UK Banks to Improve on Providing Basic Bank Accounts (No Fees & No Overdraft) after UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Mystery Shopping Revealed Some Vulnerable Customers (Financial Hardship, No Standard Identification, No Fixed Address) were Directed to Unsuitable Online Applications & Standard Bank Accounts, 9 UK Banks are Required to Offer Basic Bank Accounts (Barclays, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB & Virgin Money)
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