Michelle Highman, Chief Executive, The Money Charity: The Money Charity continues to actively champion Financial Wellbeing and Financial Capability, and as part of that, also provides programmes that promote Financial Inclusion too.
With a vision that everyone achieves Financial Wellbeing by managing their money well, The Money Charity has been the UK’s Financial Capability charity for over 25 years. We welcome the findings of the 10th Financial Inclusion Monitor and of particular significance to us were the observations around Subjective Financial Wellbeing and the dangers of Financial ‘Exclusion´ - something which continues to adversely affect those at the intersection of money, race and cultural bias.
In the past year, we have been actively involved in championing Financial Inclusion for a specifically affected demographic at risk of ‘Exclusion’ – those who have come to the UK seeking refuge and/or asylum - via a targeted intervention providing Financial Education and we’re happy to affirm that our work has been demonstrably successful.
Developed in conjunction with the Refugee Council, in 2022 The Money Charity launched a Programme of Financial Wellbeing Workshops for individuals from a refugee or asylum seeker background. The sessions are fully-funded (free of charge) for charities and community organisations that work with these communities and understand their unique challenges.
The Programme was developed to provide support for people arriving in the UK, where they are faced with learning a new language while also adapting to an entirely new and complicated financial system. It has proved particularly useful with the onset of the Cost of Living crisis.
Providing credible support and advice during a critical period of settlement in a new financial landscape is vital to ensure people get the help they need and deserve, via information that is presented in an easily accessible and understandable manner, and to achieve the intended outcome that they are not Financially ‘Excluded’ or otherwise disadvantaged.
The Programme’s five workshop sessions are each 2 hours long and designed for up to 20 attendees. They can be delivered virtually or face-to-face, with or without interpretation. Topics we cover include: An introduction to the UK Financial System, Budgeting & Savings, Credit & Debt, Energy, and Money Safety. Programme participants also receive a copy of our adult learning resource, The Money Manual, and a signposting handout which is available in eight languages.
In 2022, we delivered a record number of 28 sessions (56 hours) to 353 people, primarily female, who were of a refugee or asylum seeker background, through relationships we have built with organisations such as the Refugee Council, our Programme development partner, and also World Jewish Relief. Our robust impact and evaluation process has evidenced the value that this unique programme has added in helping people who have come to the UK in this way to feel more financially confident and capable to thrive within the financial system in which they now need to orient themselves. An example of our measurement for impact includes how only 20% of participants who entered into a Programme session reported feeling financial capable and able to plan for the future, rising to a sizeable 80% following completion of the session (this excerpt of feedback was from just one session in the full series of five).
We noted with interest the final suggestion of the 10th Inclusion Monitor regarding a shifting of the dial, away from monitoring only Financial Inclusion to focus more on financial security, Resilience and Wellbeing. This is a suggestion we would welcome.
We feel the intervention Programme we have designed is a significant example of why Financial Capability and Inclusion often go hand in hand. Access to products and services is always going to be important, but is of little use without the ability to understand and engage confidently. Indeed in certain circumstances access without capability can lead to vulnerable people being taken advantage of or at least misunderstanding how a product works and being penalised as a result.
The Cost of Living crisis has resulted in people at all income levels thinking about money in ways they may not have needed to previously, and while it has encouraged more open conversation about money, it has also put an incredible strain on individuals to take personal responsibility for tackling what are systemic financial challenges which occur largely outside of their control.
There are further opportunities to offer support in the current, hugely challenging environment through tailored help and support to build confidence and understanding which ultimately should lead to more confident and engaged access. Access must come hand-in-hand with credible education and a concerted effort towards confidence-building and empowerment - or, to put it another way, Financial Inclusion absolutely needs to be a focus, in equal conjunction with both Financial Capability and Financial Wellbeing.
Our experience with the Programme we created in conjunction with our partner continues to both illuminate the lack of, and evidence the need for, tailored Financial Capability & Wellbeing initiatives as well as ongoing, sustainable sources of funding to pay for them.