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Metro Bank Offers Free Financial Education To Vulnerable Adults

Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash

In National Care Leavers Week (October 24th-28th), the UK’s community bank, Metro Bank, has just introduced a new Money Zone financial education programme to care leavers with further programmes for disadvantaged adults to follow.

Traditionally, Metro Bank has delivered Money Zone - a series of virtual, or face to face financial education lessons to over 250,000 UK children aged from 7-16. The Bank is now extending its Money Zone programme to young adults, beginning with virtual sessions for care leavers.

Metro Bank is a signatory to the Care Leaver Covenant – a joint promise made by the private, public and voluntary sectors to provide support for care leavers aged 16-25 to help them to live independently.

Around 11,000 young people (aged 16 - 18) leave care each year. The new programme takes participants through three key sections. The initial financial education section explains how to budget, keep safe online and explains how banking works and the types of bank accounts available. The mid-section explains everything related to lending and debt including the differences between good and bad debt and how a credit score works. The final section talks through the different types of mortgages and how they and interest payments work and what government support is available. The session wraps up with a warning about fraud and looks at how young adults can be targeted as money mules.

Simi Dubb Metro Bank’s Director of Inclusion explains:
“One in ten people in the UK cannot read a fish and chip menu and adult financial literacy is equally challenging – worldwide just one in three people are deemed to be financially literate.”

“We want to help vulnerable communities such as care leavers and other vulnerable adults by explaining how real life finance works, through practical and engaging sessions designed to educate and empower them to manage their own money as they pass through key life stages from first pay cheque to getting a mortgage.”

In addition to the new financial education programme, Metro Bank has also made some changes to its account opening process to support care leavers, who sometimes struggle to provide proof of a permanent address. The Bank has also made it easier for people leaving care to apply to join the bank offering both dedicated support they can choose to take advantage of, as well as access to apprenticeships for applicants with no GCSEs, recognising that some care leavers aren’t able to complete their school education.

Anyone interested in taking part in Money Zone should contact their nearest Metro Bank store.