The Co-operative Bank tackles financial exclusion through its Bridge to Banking initiative

• The Co-operative Bank launches a new ‘Bridge to Banking’ initiative to tackle financial exclusion that gives young people being supported by Centrepoint in Manchester access to basic bank accounts.
• The initiative will be piloted in Manchester, where almost 2,000 young people have faced homelessness in the last year

The Co-operative Bank has launched a new initiative in partnership with youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, to help financially excluded, homeless young people in Manchester to access basic banking products.

A critical issue that homeless individuals face in accessing financial services is the absence of a fixed address. Acknowledging this, the Bank is collaborating with Centrepoint to pilot an innovative solution – young homeless people in Manchester can use Centrepoint’s address as their own, prior to establishing a safe, permanent address. Centrepoint’s advisors will signpost young people who require banking facilities to the bank’s pilot and provide the documentation required to apply for The Co-operative Bank’s Cashminder account. The Bank expects to begin receiving referral applications in the coming weeks and will monitor the success of the pilot over the next six months.

Centrepoint is a key charity partner of The Co-operative Bank and works with 16-25 year olds across Manchester and throughout the UK who do not have a safe place to call home. Their services include supported accommodation alongside coaching to help young people into education, training or employment. According to Centrepoint’s research, 122,000 young people were homeless or at risk of homelessness in the UK last year – almost 2,000 (1,880) of these young people were in the Manchester area. The charity has an ambitious vision to end youth homelessness by 2037.

The Bank has raised over £2 million to support Centrepoint in the time since the beginning of the partnership five years ago, contributing to vital services provided to young homeless people, including the funding of Centrepoint’s Helpline and helping to finance the refurbishment of their flagship service in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, which opened last month. Coinciding with the launch of the Bridge to Banking initiative, the refurbished premises will provide a safe and welcoming space to support young people.

Commenting on launch of the Bridge to Banking initiative, Darrell Evans, Managing Director of Retail Banking at The Co-operative Bank, said:

“The Co-operative Bank has a long history of standing up for the causes and social issues that matter to our customers which is why we are delighted to launch our new initiative for young homeless people in Manchester through our partnership with Centrepoint. The Bridge to Banking initiative has been designed to ensure that young people are not caught in the cycle of financial exclusion when attempting to reintegrate after experiencing homelessness. Being able to help people to access a bank account will add to the existing services which Centrepoint are able to provide. We hope it helps many young people to get back on their feet.”

Ed Tytherleigh, Director of Housing and Support, said:

“Lack of access to a bank account is a significant barrier preventing young people from escaping homelessness, and can even cause youth homelessness in some cases. We are very grateful to our long term partners The Co-operative Bank for working with us to develop a solution which works for the vulnerable young people we support, and will help many to speed up the process of accessing sustainable housing and employment.”