Banks surpass target to halve number of unbanked households

The British Bankers' Association welcomed the Treasury's confirmation that the number of UK households without bank accounts fell from two million in 2003-04 to fewer than 900,000 in 2007-08.

BBA chief executive Angela Knight said: "Having a bank account is a gateway to work, benefits and other services. UK banks have worked alongside the Government to make this possible, allowing many more people pay their bills at the best rates, manage their money and build up a long-term banking relationship.

"We have met our shared goal with HM Treasury, but this is not the end. Banks will continue to work with the Government's Financial Inclusion Taskforce to meet its aims. They will also continue to offer basic bank accounts to customers joining the banking system and support financial education and advice charities to ensure, simple, safe, accessible banking for all."

The new Treasury figures come after the latest statistics from the BBA showed that, since April 2003, more than 3.7 million post office accessible accounts have been opened (half of them estimated to be for customers completely new to banking) and 485,000 have been upgraded subsequently to other accounts. Together with other basic functionality accounts accessible through branches, cash machines and mobile branch facilities, around eight million basic accounts have introduced new customers to banking.