SmartDebit comment on new Big Lottery Fund to make people more ‘financially aware’

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SmartDebit

The new scheme aims to help around 150,000 council tenants and has a budget of £31.7 million.

(PRWEB UK) 21 September 2012

According to the London Evening Standard, roughly one in ten people in the lowest income bracket do not have access to a bank account that caters for direct payments (direct debits or standing orders). This means that many are missing out on the discounts that many utility providers offer when customers opt to pay via direct debit. They may also be more likely to miss payments all together by not having a direct debit application in place.

Although many people with a bad credit history can find it hard to obtain a bank account, the greater concern is that some just do not know where to find a bank or building society that will accept them, when in reality there is actually a much greater choice for them than first thought.

The new scheme aims to help around 150,000 council tenants and has a budget of £31.7 million. One of the key objectives outlined is to reduce the number of evictions and educate people on how to set up a basic bank account.

A member of the SmartDebit team, the UK leading Direct Debit Bureau shares his thoughts on the subject:

“The new Lottery proposal is a great idea which should really help those who aren’t too familiar with financial matters. The biggest issue to tackle is the number of people who do not have a bank account set up, as those are missing out on simple benefits like saving money on regular bill payments.”

SmartDebit™ are the UK’s leading Direct Debit Bureau, specialising in payment processing services since 1998. A Bacs approved Bureau, scoring ‘Excellent’ in all five categories of the Bacs audit, and ISO 27001 compliant. Providing a complete range of services: Outsourcing; SmartDebit-Admin cloud based portal; SmartDebit-Online payer sign up; SmartDebit-API integrated solution and SmartDebit-Contingency.

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