Five UK banks, including Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide, and Santander, have expanded on Shelter’s collaboration with HSBC to support people at risk of homelessness.
Through this move, people prone to experiencing homelessness are set to be able to open bank accounts for the first time through a new pilot project between Shelter and the five UK banks. This will allow Shelter to assist individuals without a fixed address in mitigating a significant barrier which prevents people from being able to obtain paid work.
Scaling financial inclusion across the UK
By extending Shelter’s partnership with HSBC, which has already supported over 7,000 individuals, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide, and Santander intend to assist people in rebuilding their lives by enabling them to open a bank account, which, without a fixed address, can be difficult. This comes as an addition to the new digital pass that the UK Government is developing, which is set to provide individuals with a free and simple way to prove their identity.
The pilot between Shelter and the five UK financial institutions comes as part of the new Financial Inclusion Strategy, rolled out on 5 November 2025, which creates a national plan to make financial services fit the needs of anyone, regardless of whether they are experiencing homelessness or are part of families without savings, as well as children learning about money. The UK’s Strategy includes collaborating with credit agencies to support victims of domestic harm in repairing credit records negatively affected by economic control, providing survivors with a chance to rebuild their financial independence.
Additionally, employers will benefit from assistance in offering payroll savings schemes, supporting adults without savings to put aside funds for unexpected situations. Currently, many businesses are hesitant to facilitate such services to their employees as they fear not complying with their statutory obligations. However, the UK Government mentioned that, through this Strategy, they can have the certainty that they can launch such schemes without encountering any issues.
The UK’s Strategy seeks to further expand financial education in schools, providing primary school children with the tools to better understand money and make confident financial decisions when they need to.
Furthermore, the Financial Inclusion Strategy comes as part of a larger effort to support individuals across the UK during the cost-of-living crisis, as it also includes 30 hours of free childcare, breakfast clubs and more school meals for children on Universal Credit, an additional five million NHS appointments, and wage increases. Also, to maintain access to banking for all, the Government is supporting the launch of 350 new banking hubs by the end of this Parliament.
