Halifax and the Bank of Scotland have been awarded a mental health accreditation for businesses by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.

The pair become two of the first three organisations to receive the ‘Mental Health Accessible’ accolade, following the accreditation of Lloyds Bank in 2020.

Money and Mental Health’s programme supports essential services providers, which includes banks, to better understand and address the challenges that customers with mental health problems face using their services.

The programme was created after Money and Mental Health published research revealing that more than half of people with mental health problems face serious difficulties using the phone to carry out essential admin, while four in 10 have severe “admin anxiety” – leaving them unable to effectively use essential services.

Money and Mental Health Policy Institute chief executive, Helen Undy, said: “Dealing with essential services providers can be difficult for anyone. But for the 12 million people across the UK experiencing mental health problems, it can feel like an impossible task.

“This leaves people effectively locked out of services which are critical for everyday life, and can create serious distress for people who are already struggling.”

Halifax and Bank of Scotland received the accreditation following an in-depth evaluation by Money and Mental Health of how accessible their services are for customers with mental health problems. It found that both banks have taken “significant steps” to ensure their services are more accessible and supportive for vulnerable customers.

These include supporting customers with more online guidance for when they contact the bank with money worries, as well as offering colleagues a specialist tool so they can signpost customers to external organisations who can help them with financial and mental health problems. Money and Mental Health also said the pair had made their communications to customers with debt problems more “empathetic”.

Undy added: “We’re delighted that Halifax and Bank of Scotland have recognised the barriers that people can sometimes face, and taken serious steps to address them through the Mental Health Accessible programme.

“We're also urging other businesses to work with us to ensure their services are as accessible as possible. With more people facing financial worries as the furlough scheme ends, and rates of depression having increased during the pandemic, it’s more important than ever that everyone can access the services that we all rely on.”

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