Button in app could help customers struggling with addiction to limit spending
Tue 11 Dec 2018 03.18 EST
Last modified on Tue 11 Dec 2018 04.55 EST
Barclays has become the first high street bank to allow customers to block payments with certain types of retailers in an effort to give people struggling with addictions more control over their spending.
The feature will be available from Tuesday for customers using the bank’s mobile app and could help those dealing with gambling problems to cut off their spending in betting shops and on gambling websites. People can also block their own spending in pubs, bars, supermarkets and on premium-rate websites and phone lines.
A button within the Barclays mobile banking app enables customers to choose which types of retailers they are able to spend with. Attempted payments that fall within the “turned off” category will be declined automatically.
The feature is available to all Barclays debit card customers and will be rolled out to credit card holders in the near future.
Barclays said the move would help all its customers take greater control over where their money can be spent, as well as making them less vulnerable to fraud and scams.
The bank’s work has used research from the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute set up by personal finance journalist Martin Lewis. It also worked with the Money Advice Trust to identify the types of customer who would benefit from the initiative. These include people with mental health issues and addictions as well as those who rely on carers or a guardian to handle their finances.
Lewis said he hoped other banks would follow suit. “Mental health and debt is a marriage made in hell. Many with mental health issues struggle to control their spending – whether through gambling, shopping or premium phone lines – and I commonly hear from people with thousands of pounds of debt as a result,” he said.
“This is one reason why I set up the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute charity – and its detailed research shows the power of giving people more options for control tools that can add friction to this type of spending.”
Barclays has five retailer groups where customers can control their spending – groceries and supermarkets; restaurants, takeaways, pubs and bars; petrol and diesel; premium rate websites and phone lines – which blocks purchases made from these services, not the numbers themselves – as well as gambling websites and betting shops.
Marc Etches, the chief executive of GambleAware, said: “GambleAware welcomes this initiative by Barclays, which we hope will encourage other banks to do the same. There are 340,000 problem gamblers in Britain and a further 1.7 million at risk, and initiatives like this can play an important role in helping to reduce gambling-related harms.”
Jeremy Wright, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said: “Using technology for good must be a priority for all businesses. I support this move from Barclays that can help people protect themselves from the risk of gambling-related harm. This is an area where both industry and government have important roles to play. I urge others in the banking sector to follow suit.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/barclays-mobile-banking-gambling-drinking-app
