Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced during his recent Budget speech last week that every adult in Britain should be entitled to open a basic bank account.
According to the British Bankers’ Association, around eight million adults in the UK currently have a basic bank account. The new plans announced in the Budget could see an extra million people opening a bank account over the next five years.
These bank accounts are aimed at people with low incomes, or those with poor credit ratings who would not meet the approval for a standard bank account. A perfect example of the kind of bank account the Government is aiming to make accessible to all, is the basic bank account from Secure Trust Bank.
These accounts have been designed to put the holder in complete control of their finances and open up facilities such as online retail, direct debit and online banking. This account comes with a prepaid MasterCard, this functions in exactly the same way as any otherwhich is accepted at over 28 million outlets worldwide. It allows the account holder to load as much cash onto the account and then spend as they wish. The nature of the account means that it is impossible for the holder to go overdrawn.
The account is ideal for those who may have been refused access to a bank account in the past. The prepaid MasterCard also acts as a quick and simple means of money transfer; for example, if the account holder has family abroad, or a child at university, they can send them an additional prepaid MasterCard loaded with the amount of money they wish to send to them. It also opens up the world on online banking, eCommerce and online retail to people who would otherwise be excluded.
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