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Chancellor Alistair Darling has confirmed that every consumer is to be
guaranteed access to a bank account, claiming the move would lead to one million
adults opening an account by 2015.
Recent figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) show 1.75 million people do
not have access to a bank account.
The proposal is designed to tackle financial exclusion, and builds on
campaigning from the government and the banking industry for people to open a
current account.
The banking industry has questioned the need for the Government to guarantee
access to banking facilities, insisting that any adult in the UK can open a bank
account if they want one, except those individuals who cannot prove their
identity, a legal requirement when opening a new account.
A BBA spokesperson commented: "It is already the case that everybody can have a
bank account if they want one, unless (and this is rare) the law says they
can't.
"Every month 40,000 more people open basic accounts.
"It is unclear whether a legal obligation to provide such accounts would make
any difference to this steady trend."
Source:
Getting Paid
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