Forced to share PINs, left open to fraud – Martin Lewis calls for carers' cards and third party help as one in five risk financial abuse
Banks must offer people the tools they need to manage their money in safer ways – and this needs to be overseen by the Government. This is according to new calls from Martin Lewis and the charity he founded and chairs, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI).
It comes as new research from the MMHPI has found that more than one in five people with mental health problems in the UK have shared their PINs or bank account details, putting them at greater risk of financial abuse. The charity estimates that nearly two million people could be affected.
The MMHPI is now pressing the Government, regulators and banks for a set of standardised tools, including carers' cards, as well as third party account notifications and payment controls for people authorised by the card holder.
Martin Lewis: 'Our banking sector is too big to fail, so it's too big to be allowed to fail the most vulnerable'
People want to be responsible for their own money. Yet some struggling with mental health issues know there are times they can't be responsible… so the responsible thing for them to do at those times is to get a trusted family member or friend to help.
Yet when they try, often the cogs of the financial system seize up. The tools needed just aren't widely available. The only recourse, often at a desperate time, is to break the rules, leaving them forced to shed the cloak of normal financial protections – putting them at risk of losing money, financial abuse, and worried about being disenfranchised from access to financial services. The technology is available, we just haven't seen it used enough to help those with mental health issues.
That's why we're calling on the government and regulator to convince firms to do this in a voluntary way, as they did with basic bank accounts. If not, then there should be a push to make it a regulatory mandate. Our banking sector is too big to fail, so it's too big to be allowed to fail the most vulnerable.
We need tools so that people can share money management more easily and without putting themselves or their carer in harm's way.
Banks don't consistently offer support – what the MMHPI found in more detail
The MMHPI found that four in 10 people say they would like help with their daily finances, though its analysis of 18 current account providers shows that firms do not consistently offer avenues for people to get that help in a secure, legally protected way. Here's what the research found in more detail:
Tool offered | How many current account providers offer this tool? |
|---|---|
💳 Carers' cards | Seven out of 18 |
📳 Third party account notifications | Three out of 18 |
🚫 Third party payment control | One out of 18 |
Without these tools, the MMHPI says people struggling with mental health problems and wanting support with their finances are often forced to share sensitive information, such as PINs and log-ins. However, because this is usually in breach of their bank's rules, and because more people then have access to their information, it leaves them at an increased risk of financial abuse.
"I was mentally unwell," said one person who participated in the MMHPI's research. "I had someone I thought I trusted try to help. Instead I was coerced into giving them £1,000s of pounds thinking they were helping me."
The MMHPI and Martin are now asking the Government to create a voluntary agreement that would require the financial firms signed up to offer the package to customers.
They're also asking the Government to launch a review of the Power of Attorney system – a legal document where someone nominates a trusted friend or relative to look after their affairs if they later lost mental capacity – to ensure it's fit for purpose for those living with mental health problems.
Helen Undy, chief executive of the MMHPI said: For many people with mental health problems, getting the support of a loved one to manage money is the difference between keeping their head above water financially or falling into serious money problems. It is unacceptable that people have to put themselves at risk of harm to get that support because banks aren’t providing the right tools to do this safely and easily.
We've asked HM Treasury to comment on these calls and we'll update this story if we get a response.
Share this guide?
Latest weekly email
Clever ways to calculate your finances
