Citizens Advice Scotland calls for access to banking for all

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But, unfortunately, the statement didn’t do much to reassure people still struggling with cost-of-living pressures, and facing cuts to welfare payments.

So, research from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) published this week made timely and sobering reading, emphasising the scale of work required to tackle financial exclusion

.Its Holding to Account report found that basic bank accounts – designed to help people who are financially vulnerable to manage their money – are too difficult to access. It said that of the12 banks which are supposed to offer these no-frills accounts, only two of them do so in a way thatis “readily accessible”. CAS financial health manager Sarah-Jayne Dunn, points out that across the UK there are 1.1 million people who do not have a bank account, including about 160,000 in Scotland.“

This is the ultimate form of financial exclusion today,” she says. “People who don’t have bank accounts include those who’ve been made bankrupt, refugees, ex-prisoners, homeless people and victim-survivors of domestic abuse. In other words, precisely the sort of people who are already financially vulnerable and need most help.”

There is a ripple effect to not having a bank account that can’t be ignored. As CAS explains, “basic everyday tasks become impossible”. It means people can’t receive their wages or any payments from benefits, and can’t get a tenancy agreement, for example.

Therefore, I fully support the call from CAS for the UK and Scottish governments, financial firms, the financial regulator, charities and other bodies to do their part to help give everyone access to a bank account.

Meanwhile, in this issue of Scotsman Money, you can read tips from a range of experts on how to best prepare for the new tax year to ensure you make use of all allowances available.

Elsewhere, Mark Polson of The Lang Cat explores how artificial intelligence is being used in financial services. Tom Ham of Calton discusses the ongoing appeal of gold. Waverton Wealth’s Sean Lowson outlines the importance of your financial planner working closely with other investment professionals. And Andrew Sutherland of Acumen Financial Planning urges people to ensure their Inheritance Tax plan is kept updated as legislation and rules change continuously – as, of course, do individual circumstances.

If you have a personal finance question you would like answered, please email [email protected] and you can sign up for our Scotsman Money newsletter online at www.scotsman.com/newsletter