Good practice guide for financial services: Supporting customers experiencing economic abuse

Key Take Aways

• Economic abuse is a prevalent and often hidden form of domestic abuse affecting over 4.1 million women in the UK annually, leading to significant lifelong adverse consequences.
• Financial services firms have a critical role in recognising, responding to, and preventing economic abuse through trauma-informed, survivor-centred approaches.
• Embedding specialist domestic and economic abuse teams within financial institutions enhances targeted support, risk assessment, and referral pathways.
• Raising awareness via campaigns and accessible support channels is essential to empowering victim-survivors to disclose abuse and seek help.
• Providing a variety of safe, accessible disclosure options (face-to-face, digital, telephony, alternative formats) reduces barriers to support.
• Minimising the need for victim-survivors to recount their story repeatedly through structured tools (e.g., Economic Abuse Evidence Form) and integrated systems alleviates trauma.
• Co-designing products and services with victim-survivors improves safety and reduces systemic vulnerabilities that perpetrators exploit.
• Supporting victim-survivors to flee safely involves financial innovations such as Flee Funds, delinking joint accounts, and offering flexible debt and account management solutions.
• Building tailored, trauma-informed response frameworks enhances trust and outcomes, especially for marginalised groups facing additional barriers.
• Firms are encouraged to implement proactive measures to prevent economic abuse, including delinking joint accounts, using data analytics, and designing out vulnerabilities.
• Recognition of law and regulation, such as the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and FCA Guidance, underpins sector accountability and best practice.
• The sector’s future opportunities include leveraging advanced data and AI for early detection and effective prevention of economic abuse at scale.

Key Statistics

• In the last year, 4.1 million UK women experienced economic abuse.
• Over 95% of victim-survivors contacting support services experienced economic abuse.
• Over 18,000 survivors have been supported by Lloyds Banking Group’s specialist domestic abuse team since inception.
• TSB’s Safe Spaces programme was extended to over 1,000 branches across the UK, opening access to discreet, face-to-face support.
• Monzo’s “Share with us” digital disclosure tool protects privacy and supports discreet reporting of domestic abuse.
• The Economic Abuse Evidence Form (EAEF) has supported over 400 victim-survivors, with faster decision-making (13 days versus 63 days) and fewer follow-up requests.
• Commonwealth Bank in Australia identified over 8,000 cases of abusive payment references within three months.
• Commonwealth Bank’s AI system blocks nearly one million abusive transactions, demonstrating technology’s role in safeguarding.
• Less than 20% of victim-survivors report to police; only 745 convictions for controlling or coercive behaviour were recorded in 2023.
• Across the UK, 750,000 women experienced economic abuse related to joint mortgage abuse in the past two years.
• Over 4,000 victim-survivors have been supported by NatWest and SafeLives’ Circle Fund since 2021.
• A growing number of firms have adopted the UK Finance Financial Abuse Code, with over 40 signatories.

Key Discussion Points

• The pervasive yet covert nature of economic abuse necessitates enhanced awareness and bespoke response strategies within financial institutions.
• Regulatory frameworks like the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and FCA guidance emphasise sector accountability and a duty of care.
• Trauma-informed training for frontline staff is vital to recognising red flags and responding appropriately, especially during initial disclosures.
• Campaigns such as HSBC UK’s ‘When an abuser controls your finances, they control you’ play a crucial role in raising public awareness.
• Offering diverse, accessible disclosure options (digital, face-to-face, translation) ensures greater safety and trust for victim-survivors.
• Systems that avoid retraumatising victim-survivors by enabling them to share their story once are key to trauma-informed practice.
• Specialist domestic and economic abuse teams support complex cases, providing tailored, safe interventions and referrals.
• Clear referral pathways to charities and legal services are paramount for addressing the broader needs of victim-survivors.
• Innovative financial products and policies, including delinking joint accounts and offering safe withdrawal options, can prevent ongoing harm.
• Proactive industry measures like data analytics, AI-driven detection, and system design improvements can curb misuse before escalation.
• The importance of survivor-inclusive co-design processes in product development is emphasised to ensure safety and efficacy.
• Future sector developments include harnessing technology and data insights to prevent economic abuse at earlier stages.

Document Description

This article is a comprehensive practitioner’s guide aimed at senior managers within financial services. It details how the sector can effectively recognise, respond to, and prevent economic abuse. Grounded in the lived experiences of victim-survivors and anchored in current legislation and regulation, the article offers practical, actionable insights. It covers topics from awareness raising and safe disclosures to trauma-informed support and innovative prevention strategies. The overarching goal is to embed best practice, foster survivor-centred design, and harness technology to eradicate economic abuse, ultimately saving lives and enabling survivors to rebuild financial independence.