The Government has today published its Dormant Assets Strategy allocating £132.5m in dormant assets funding to financial inclusion through Fair4All Finance.
This means future funding from the scheme will continue to help people in vulnerable circumstances access fair financial products and services. We’re pleased that for the first time, this includes funding to help build financial capability so that people can manage their money with confidence.
The Dormant Assets Scheme aims to reunite people with lost money from forgotten bank accounts and other financial products. Where this isn’t possible, money is transferred to the scheme to be used for good causes.
This extra funding will help us invest more in scaling the financial products and services already shown to benefit customers and continue testing new solutions, including a greater focus on insurance and building resilience. We’ll share more details on our plans soon, including opportunities to input into them.
And as always, we will look to structure this investment in partnership with other funds to leverage dormant assets funding and extend the impact as far as possible.
Ultimately, our goal is to change the system and create financial services markets that work for everyone.
‘We’re delighted to receive this extra funding from the Dormant Assets Scheme, and we’ll set about getting it to work quickly to help the millions of people across the country who are financially excluded or underserved.
‘We’re grateful to the financial services sector for their role in making the scheme work, allowing money that would otherwise sit idle on balance sheets to truly change people’s lives.
‘We’ve already seen the positive impact dormant assets funding can have in providing people with a stepping stone to financial resilience, improving their physical and mental health and enabling them to play a full part in society.
‘We look forward to continuing to work with all our stakeholders to create a financial services market that serves everyone. With the combined skills of the industry, government, regulators and civil society, we can keep making a difference to the lives of millions of people.’
Kate Pender, CEO of Fair4All Finance
How our funding helps us make a difference
Supporting organisations that are serving people in financially vulnerable circumstances
Our investments in community finance providers are helping the resilience of the sector and increasing the amount of affordable credit available for people in financially vulnerable circumstances
- We’ve allocated £37m to community development finance institutions (CDFIs) and credit unions as part of our Affordable Credit Scale Up Programme, which is projected to increase the availability of affordable credit to over £500m by 2025 – investees on the programme saw a growth rate of 33% in 2024 versus 6-8% growth rate of the unsecured credit market
- We’ve committed over £10m to preserve the provision of affordable credit and support community finance providers and their customers through the pandemic (£150m of provision preserved) and the cost of living crisis
Investing in new solutions and technology to develop the market
Our No Interest Loan Scheme and debt consolidation lending pilots are helping thousands of people manage life events, get back on their feet and cope with the cost of living crisis, providing a vital stepping stone to longer term financial resilience:
- Our No Interest Loan Scheme pilot has lent £10m in interest free credit to over 13,000 people
- Our £12m debt consolidation pilot investment aims to unlock £50m+ in extra debt consolidation lending to people in financially vulnerable circumstances by 2030
Helping more people access the products and support they need
Alongside raising awareness of affordable credit, our support for providers of benefit calculators and grant checkers continues to encourage organisations to embed these in their customer journeys to help people maximise their income:
- Two thirds of our investee InBest’s benefit calculator users discovered they were missing out on an average £4,000 a year in benefits and discounts they were entitled to
- We target our funding where it is most needed, and we have grantees or investees in all English regions
Notes
The Dormant Assets Scheme aims to re-unite people with their financial assets. Owners are able to reclaim what they would have been owed had their asset not been transferred into the scheme at any time.
If you think you have unclaimed monies in a bank or building society account, you can contact the firm concerned directly or visit mylostaccount.org.uk to find out more.
For any press queries, please contact James@fair4allfinance.org.uk.
