The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of UK Finance or its members.

Accessible Banking Outcomes Forum Three.

Given the successes of the earlier Forums the purpose of the third was to begin to draft the foundations of solutions to our selected problem statements. These problem statements were created from challenges charities represent. Utilising the experiences of over 40 participants from across 22 UK financial services providers.

The Forum kicked off with an ‘Art of the Possible’ panel discussion with panellists representing Money Advice Trust, Money Alive, Bank Ability and Good With, the purpose of this was to hear how their organisations, who are at the forefront of financial accessibility, are tackling the challenges of being accessible for their own customers. Key here was for this discussion to inspire our participants to think big and to use the insights and reflections as we shaped responses to the problem statements. 

Joined by our returning charities; the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Royal National Institute for Deaf People, Whizz-Kidz, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, Alzheimer’s Society and the Business Disability Forum, the goal of the third Forum was to begin creating solutions to known accessibility problem statements identified from the previous Forums. 

In the breakouts each group tackled their problem statement (e.g. Third-Party Access - Creating a more efficient and reliable third-party access process to create a seamless customer journey’). The groups then considered the problem statement through the lens of a journey, first understanding the experience of the customer at each step before looking at the benefits of the solution and challenges that will need to be overcome. Finally, the groups compiled a list of the key activities that would be required to get their ideas off the ground and the immediate next steps required to support a rollout of their idea. The goal here was use the internal knowledge that our participants had on the services that their organisations could use to address these issues and learn from each other on the positive work already being undertaken.

Based on the conversations and insights from the Forum, a ‘Themes’ document has been created which delves deeper into the outputs of the panel and the breakout sessions where initial solutions were built out, as well as outlining the key takeaways and wrapping up the series as a whole.

As an introduction the below five focus areas were identified in the panel as being key to drive change.

1. The details in the data. Analysing data is the foundation for understanding customer demographics and how services can be tailored.
2. New routes through personalisation. Give people the power to self-serve through personalisation.
3. Many hands make light work. Organisations should utilise charities and individual networks to build accessibility understanding from the onset.
4. Unleashing human potential. Utilise frontline staff to act as first support and sharing best practices between Organisations.
5. Elevating expectations and balancing standards. Creating industry wide standards and continuous review allows for robust and accessible services.

A link to the document can be found here.