Kept Out or Opted Out? Understanding and Combating Financial Exclusion

Despite widespread interest in financial exclusion, remarkably little is known about the extent and nature of the problem. This report fills that gap. Using data from the Family Resources Survey it identifies how many households in Britain have no, or very few, mainstream financial products and who they are. It also draws on 87 in-depth interviews to describe the processes that lead to financial exclusion and the consequences for households that are excluded financially.

Finally, it documents the unmet needs that exist for financial products; the mismatch between those needs and current provision; and identifies innovative ways of providing financial services that are more appropriate to the needs of financially excluded households.

The report will be valuable to policy-makers, debt counselors and financial advisors as well as students and academics in the field of social policy.