We are pleased that the Council of Financial Regulators (CoFR) is considering ways to improve access to basic transaction accounts for underserved customers, but we were disappointed that people who experience family violence were not identified in the CoFR Issues Paper as a key population group which requires consideration to support access to basic transaction accounts. We have seen the difference that some banks are making by introducing processes to meet these needs, and we believe that at least some of these processes should be universally offered by all banks to make this basic step to safety and autonomy a basic right for people experiencing family violence.
Shine will make a submission on the CoFR Issues Paper to raise issues particular to the needs of people experiencing family violence, and the barriers to basic transaction accounts caused by family violence and economic abuse, such as: no ID because it has been stolen, hidden or destroyed by the person using violence, no proof of address because all accounts are in the name of the person using violence as a control tactic, and in cases where someone has separated from a person using violence, fear that their contact details will be shared with their person, especially if they are a joint account holder.