FCA Vulnerable Customers Review: Comment & Analysis

Some comments on the recent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review of firms’ treatment of customers in vulnerable circumstances.

It shows that just 4 in 10 customers experiencing vulnerabilities say they have disclosed their needs to their financial services provider.

It also highlights that customers in vulnerable circumstances are more likely to report a negative experience with financial services firms, such as their bank or insurer, when compared to non-vulnerable customers.

Commenting on these findings, Conor D’Arcy, Deputy Chief Executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said:

“This review underlines that people in vulnerable circumstances still aren’t consistently getting the service and outcomes from financial services that other customers receive.

“It’s worrying that only a minority of customers in vulnerable circumstances have disclosed their needs to financial services providers, and our own research suggests that this proportion is particularly small for people with mental health problems. That means that an alarmingly high share of people who could really benefit from extra support are missing out – which can have big impacts on our finances and our mental health.

“This isn’t a new problem, and we know what the solutions are. Firms need to be more proactive in encouraging customers to share their needs and to take tangible action in response to disclosures. To really deliver that step up in outcomes for people in vulnerable circumstances, the FCA must be ready to step in decisively with firms that consistently fail to meet the expectations set out in the vulnerability guidance.”

Money and Mental Health works directly with financial services through its Mental Health Accessible consultancy programme to improve support for customers in vulnerable circumstances, including making it easier for people to disclose their needs.

Conor D’Arcy said:

“When firms take steps to address the barriers that people face in disclosing their needs, the results can be transformative for customers. The FCA’s review highlights lots of areas where firms have made big strides. But it also points to gaps in firms’ understanding and where more needs to be done. It’s great to see the FCA pull out the importance of getting lived experience insight and testing communications with customers as a way to fill those gaps, which our Mental Health Accessible team has helped some of the biggest banks in the country to do.”