Almost half (49%) of UK adults have at least one characteristic of vulnerability, research by MorganAsh has found.

The financial support firm said its latest data demonstrates the need to understand customer vulnerability.

In addition to more than 26 million adults living with one or more characteristic of vulnerability, MorganAsh’s latest survey revealed that around 10% of adults are in poor health. Of this group, 58% experience difficulty in interacting with providers or managing their finances.

MorganAsh also found that people dealing with an income shock or relationship breakdown are most likely to face difficulties dealings with their finances or with financial services.

A further 10% of people in Britain have no cash casings, with one in five (21%) having less than £1,000 in case of an emergency.

It comes as the FCA’s multi-firm vulnerability review found that many firms still can’t monitor or take action on outcomes for vulnerable customers, despite the renewed emphasis by the regulator on Consumer Duty.

Managing director at MorganAsh, Andrew Gething, said: "When you consider these important findings, it will simply not wash if your firm still says that you have a small percentage of vulnerable customers – or even none.

"We know from other FCA research that this is a commonly held view in certain sectors. Just as worrying is that many firms say customer vulnerability is not their concern. If it wasn’t clear enough already, there is a pressing need for all financial services firms to get to grips with customer vulnerability and equip themselves with the tools and technology to make this happen.

"The survey demonstrates the size and scale of customer vulnerability in the UK, whether it’s because of poor health, negative life events, low resilience or low capability. We absolutely need to know who those customers are – so we can provide the right service, support and importantly, the right outcomes."

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