Money and Mental Health responds to FCA’s Financial Lives survey

Under strict embargo until 0001 Friday 16 May 2025

Money and Mental Health responds to FCA’s Financial Lives survey

Today the Financial Conduct Authority (which regulates financial services) has published the findings of its latest Financial Lives Survey.

Key findings include:

One in ten UK adults have no cash savings at all, and another 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency.
One in four people in the UK have low financial resilience, meaning that they have missed payments, are struggling to keep up with commitments, or don’t have savings to help them through difficulties.
The survey suggests that there has been progress on access to basic banking services such as an increase in consumers who hold current accounts and a reduction in people being denied basic bank accounts.
It also shows that 1.2 million adults (2% of the population) were digitally excluded, a decrease from 6.9 million (14%) in 2017.

Responding to these findings, Helen Undy, Chief Executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said: “The fact that so many people across the UK are in such a financially precarious position should be a real cause of concern for banks, government and regulators.

“Our own research shows that people with mental health problems would be twice as likely to struggle to make ends meet if they lost their main source of income. And while it’s encouraging to see that more people are accessing bank accounts, many people with mental health problems still face an uphill battle when using these services, struggling to speak to specialist teams, understand terms and conditions or resist offers of new credit.

“Banks need to make their services accessible and to offer people more tools and support to stay in control of their finances and savings, from spending controls to carers’ cards. We also want the FCA to go further in making sure firms act on their obligations under the Consumer Duty to deliver better outcomes for customers.

“These issues should also be a top priority in the government’s upcoming financial inclusion strategy. Any efforts to tackle financial exclusion that don’t consider the needs of people with mental health problems won’t succeed.”

ENDS

Contact:

To set up an interview or for any other media enquiries, please contact Alex Goodfellow, External Affairs Officer, on 07935 216 804 or [email protected].

Notes to Editors

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute was set up by Martin Lewis in spring 2016, registered charity number 1166493.
It conducts research and develops policies for essential services firms, regulators, the health service and government to help people with mental health problems protect themselves from financial difficulties and get out of debt.
Martin Lewis CBE, Money Saving Expert, is an award-winning campaigning broadcaster, newspaper columnist and author. He founded MoneySavingExpert.com in 2003 for £100 and remains its full-time Editor-in-Chief. It is now the UK’s biggest money site, with more than 14 million monthly users. Martin has his own prime-time ITV programme – The Martin Lewis Money Show – and is resident expert on This Morning, Good Morning Britain and BBC Radio 5 Live’s Consumer Panel, among others.
Helen Undy is a passionate mental health campaigner and became the Institute’s Chief Executive in 2018, having previously led the Institute’s impact and communications work.