Key learnings
- Learn practical tips to support survivors to open a bank account.
- Understand the benefits of participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative.
- Check out the U.K. and U.S. banks that are currently offering survivor banking products.
- Explore the next steps to empower survivors once they’ve opened an account.
Practical tips for supporting survivors to open an account
Opening a bank account with limited documentation and navigating the complexity of different banking systems has been challenging for numerous survivors and their support workers. However, this needn’t be the case.
Following the creation of the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative, there are now increasing numbers of banks across the U.K., U.S. and Canada working closely with survivor support organisations to improve access for survivors.
As a survivor support organisation, here are some practical steps you can take to support the survivors you are working with to open an account:
1. Before account opening
Following severe trauma, survivors may exhibit a victimhood mindset and may have a negative outlook on money, and trustworthy people, as a result of previous exploitation.
Before referring survivors to open a bank account, it is important for survivor support organisations to take an assessment of their client’s current mindset and where they are in their journey of recovery. This helps to make sure that an individual is ready to take on the responsibility to manage their finances independently, without putting themselves at greater risk of exploitation.
We are looking to work with survivors and survivor support organisations to develop a tool which will help to assess whether survivors are exhibiting a victimhood mindset and at what stage they would be ready to start the account opening process. If you would like to learn more or get involved in the development of our pilot project, please contact us.
2. Strengthen your referral pathways
- Register as part of the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative to streamline referrals for survivor bank accounts with participating banks in the UK and the US.
- Work closely with key contacts at participating banks to help inform the development of projects and benefit the survivors you support.
3. Provide information before an initial appointment
- Talk to survivors to understand their preferences and guide them in the most suitable direction. For example:
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- Are they looking for a bank where they can easily visit the branch or do they feel more confident online?
- Which services and products are they looking to access in the long term?
- Do they have any other personal preferences or requirements which would influence their choice of bank?
- Confirm which forms of identification (if any) are available to the survivors whom you are supporting and then inform the bank in advance, allowing them to prepare the next steps. All of the banks operating within the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative provide flexibility around identity documentation and proof of address. However, providing information before an initial appointment can simplify the process.
4. Increase awareness and share information
- Use your own networks to increase awareness of referral pathways among other frontline staff (both within your organisation and beyond).
- Share relevant and appropriate information within your organisation to prevent the spread of misinformation concerning survivor eligibility to open an account.
Working with FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative
Developed as part of the FAST Blueprint, the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative is the first global framework to promote financial access to survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. The initiative brings together banks and survivor support organisations in the U.K., Canada and the U.S., to assist survivors’ reintegration into mainstream financial services by providing access to simple current accounts (and basic banking services) at some of the world’s largest banks.
By partnering with FAST as a participating survivor support organisation you will gain support from participating financial institutions that are sensitive to specific survivor needs. You can also provide banks with the confidence that the necessary due diligence has been conducted to overcome any challenges regarding survivor documentation and identification.
FAST provides template resources and referral processes to streamline and simplify survivor account opening for banks and SSOs. This enables financial institutions to verify a survivor’s identity and satisfy traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) standards, helping to overcome the challenges faced by survivors who may have no official identity documents. They also provide
training resources, basic financial literacy tools and periodic opportunities for peer learning.
Learn more about the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative and contact the team for an introductory consultation via their website.
An overview of banks offering accounts and available support
Below is a list of U.S. and U.K. banks providing products and support to survivors. Signposted contacts are happy for survivor support organisations to reach out to discuss new referral partnerships.
If you are a survivor in need of assistance please speak to your support worker to organise a meeting with the bank. If you are not already receiving support from a survivor support organisation you can get help via the numbers below:
- U.K. Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline on 08000 121 700
- U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline on 1-888-373-7888
- Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline on 1-833-900-1010.
U.K. Banks
Barclays
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? Yes
- Location: U.K.-wide
- Survivor services: Offers their ‘Basic Bank Account’
- ID Requirements: Flexible
- Website: www.barclays.co.uk
- Contact: Please contact FAST to connect with Barclays and discuss a referral partnership.
HSBC
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? Yes
- Location: U.K.-wide
- ID requirements: Flexible
- Survivor services: Offers their ‘Basic Bank Account’
- Website: www.hsbc.co.uk
- Contacts: Jonathan Groom (jonathan.r.groom@hsbc.com), Will Morgan (william.morgan@hsbc.com), Joseph Eyre (joseph.eyre@hsbc.com)
Lloyds
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? Yes
- Location: U.K.-wide
- Survivor services: Offers their ‘Basic Account’
- ID requirements: Flexible
- Website: www.lloydsbankinggroup.com
- Contact: Charlotte Davis (charlotte.davis1@lloydsbanking.com)
Nationwide Building Society
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? No
- Location: U.K.-wide
- ID requirements: Flexible
- Survivor services: Offers their ‘FlexBasic Current Account’
- Website: www.nationwide.co.uk
- Contact: Jenny Stringer (Jenny.Stringer@nationwide.co.uk)
Please contact TRIBE Freedom Foundation via our contact form if you would like to be added to the list or provide further information on the services offered.
U.S. Banks
Bank of America
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? Yes
- Location: U.S.-wide
- Survivor services: Tailored products and financial literacy education
- ID requirements: Flexible
- Website: www.bankofamerica.com
- Contacts: Steve.Cavett (Steve.Cavett@bofa.com), Tami.j.Rohrer (Tami.j.Rohrer@bofa.com)
Truist
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? Yes
- Location: U.S.-wide
- Survivor services: Deposit accounts (checking, savings and reloadable card) and credit cards
- ID requirements: Flexible
- Website: www.Truist.com
- Contacts: Rick Small (Rick.Small@truist.com) and Rachel Means (Rachel.Means@truist.com)
Wells Fargo
- Are they participating in the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative? Yes
- Location: U.S.-based
- Survivor services: Survivor checking accounts, savings accounts and debit cards
- ID requirements: Flexible
- Website: https://www.wellsfargo.com/
- Contact: Please contact FAST to connect with Wells Fargo and discuss a referral partnership.
Please contact TRIBE Freedom Foundation via our contact form if you would like to be added to the list or provide further information on the services offered.
Next steps to support survivors
Supporting a survivor to open a new bank account is one of the first steps in ensuring their long-term financial well-being and independence. However, financial empowerment goes beyond this and we encourage both financial institutions and survivor support organisations to support survivors to develop both their knowledge of financial literacy and their employability skills. Once a survivor has opened their account, here are some of the key next steps:
1. Supporting survivors to access internet banking
Internet banking gives survivors greater control and flexibility over their finances. Reach out to the National Databank to explore free mobile data for the survivors you are supporting and help prevent data poverty from preventing access to banking.
To learn more about internet banking, click the ‘View module’ button below.
2. Accessing existing financial literacy resources
Many banks provide online financial literacy resources which can be accessed by survivors either with support or in their own time. A selection of recommended resources include:
Across YouTube, many videos (including NatWest’s video above) allow you to add subtitles in a large variety of languages. Simply click the settings button and choose the required language to support survivors who do not use English as their first language.
To find out more about financial literacy education, click the “View Module” button below.
3. Developing key employability skills
Employment can provide a wide-ranging positive impact, from giving someone a sense of purpose and belonging to providing a pathway out of poverty and preventing social exclusion. Consequently, employment helps to provide financial stability and prevent re-exploitation. There are a number of organisations working to promote survivor employability opportunities and accept referrals from U.K. and U.S. survivor support organisations.
U.K. Survivor Support Organisations
U.S. Survivor Support Organisations
To find out more about employability support, click the “View module” button below.
Summary: Important guidance
- Partner with the FAST Survivor Inclusion Initiative to strengthen referral pathways, help inform the development of survivor inclusion programmes and improve the account-opening experience for survivors.
- Share information packs provided by financial institutions within your organisation to prevent the spread of misinformation amongst frontline staff and survivors.
- Inform the bank of the types of ID held by the survivor (if any) and any specific preferences (i.e. language preference) or needs a survivor may have prior to an initial appointment.
- Before referring survivors to open a bank account, assess an individual’s current mindset and stage in their healing journey to help reduce the risk of re-exploitation.
- Support survivor financial empowerment beyond opening an account by helping survivors to access internet banking, financial literacy resources and key employability programmes.