Government Publishes New Financial Inclusion Strategy

The Government has published a new Financial Inclusion Strategy, setting out an ambitious cross-sector plan to ensure everyone can access and effectively use financial services, from opening a bank account to building savings and managing debt.

The strategy, led by HM Treasury with input from consumer groups, regulators, and the financial sector, outlines six key areas for action:

• Digital inclusion and access to banking – including a new pilot to make it easier for people without standard ID to open bank accounts; rollout of 350 in-person banking hubs across the UK; and a working group on inclusive design to ensure financial products are accessible to all.
• Support for savings – through clearer regulation for workplace savings schemes, a new National Coalition of Employers to promote payroll savings, and an expansion of the Help to Save scheme for low-income households.
• Insurance – including a pilot exploring contents insurance for social renters, and a working group on travel insurance for people with pre-existing mental health conditions.
• Access to affordable credit – with a £30 million Credit Union Transformation Fund, a small-sum lending pilot by Fair4All Finance, and reforms to tackle coerced debt.
• Tackling problem debt – through expanded access to specialist debt advice and fairer public sector debt collection.
• Financial education and capability – making financial education compulsory in primary schools in England and scaling up the Money and Pensions Service’s Money Guiders

The strategy weaves in three cross-cutting themes mental health, accessibility, and economic abuse to ensure financial inclusion efforts reach people facing complex barriers.

Why This Matters For Rural Areas

While the report is not rural-specific, the strategy has clear implications for financial inclusion in rural communities, where limited access to physical banking, digital connectivity challenges, and greater travel distances can deepen exclusion.

RSN welcomes the commitment to expand banking hubs and Post Office access, and to link digital inclusion with financial inclusion through the Digital Inclusion Action Plan.  both of which are vital for rural households and small businesses.

As highlighted in RSN’s Delivering for All campaign, tackling rural financial exclusion requires not just digital investment, but also fair access to services that support everyday participation in the economy. This strategy takes positive steps in that direction.