The UK’s financial system is leaving too many people behind. Find out why people facing financial hardship are struggling to access the support they need, and read the changes we’re calling for to make financial inclusion work for everyone.
The UK Government has set out a Financial Inclusion Strategy seeking to improve the financial well-being of households across the UK. It focuses on six pillars: digital inclusion and access to banking, support for savings, financial resilience through insurance, access to affordable credit, tackling problem debt, and financial education and capability.
The creation of a strategy is a positive starting point, but the next most crucial step is how this will be outworked in practice.
At Christians Against Poverty (CAP), we see the reality every day. We work alongside people navigating some of the most difficult financial circumstances imaginable. Financial exclusion is not an abstract policy problem for these households but the daily reality of wondering whether you can afford the next bill, the next shop, the next unexpected cost.
And the data backs up what we see in frontline rooms across the country.
A broken system
Too many people are living on the brink. 35% of UK adults worry about their finances every day and 14% are not confident they could afford an unexpected cost of £200. For households already stretched to breaking point, any fluctuation; an income change, a boiler repair, a delayed benefit payment — can push them over the edge.
25% of UK adults report having a deficit budget- more going out than coming in. Insufficient incomes are not a personal failing — they are a structural feature of a system that expects people to build resilience without giving them the means to do so.
This then makes credit-use widespread and often necessary, not optional. 30% of UK adults who work full-time have accessed credit card borrowing in the past two years but more alarmingly, 13% of UK adults have been unable to access their preferred credit option in the past two years. So what exists is a system that seems to necessitate borrowing as a means of survival but then punishes those who have incurred debt due to said borrowing, further compounding the issue and creating a seemingly never ending “debt-trap” and worsening the situations the very people the systems were built to help.
Some groups are being left further behind
And it is not only unliveable incomes that trap people. Unexpected life events, coercive behaviour from partners or family members, and a financial system designed around those who already have stability all play their part. 40% of UK adults who have debt they are struggling to manage have previously been pressured into taking on debt or a financial commitment by someone else — a sign of how financial control and exploitation weave into the problem.
What needs to change
The current system of financial support is fragmented, inconsistently applied, and heavily reliant on people knowing what they are entitled to and actively claiming it. For many of the households we support, that is simply not how life works. Debt, poor mental health, chaotic circumstances and a system designed around self-navigation means that the people who most need support are often the least likely to access it.
What we have is a system that fails to deliver on the vision, spirit and aims of the Financial Inclusion Strategy. Until that gap between strategy and delivery is closed, financial inclusion will remain a promise on paper — not a reality for the families who need it most.
Here is what we are calling for:
Awareness of the support available. The responsibility for finding support cannot rest on the person in crisis, there needs to be clear, universal systems and support available for those who need it.
Automatic enrollment as the default. If someone qualifies for help, they should get it.
Support that matches real needs. Support to be available for those who need it when they need it to prevent a crisis, provide a safety net, and help people build resilience for the future . .
