Over 900,000 new fee-free basic bank accounts were opened between July 2016 - June 2017, taking the total number of fee-free accounts open to nearly 5 million.



Over 900,000 new fee-free basic bank accounts were opened between July 2016 and June 2017, taking the total number of fee-free accounts open to nearly 5 million, according to the government’s basic bank account report published today.

Basic bank accounts have been available in the UK for over a decade, but since September 2016 the UK’s nine largest banks have been legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts, designed to improve financial inclusion for those who don’t have a current account or who might struggle to open a standard account.

Other findings in this year’s report include:

there are just under 8 million basic bank accounts open in the UK
for the second year running, Nationwide and Lloyds Banking Group opened the most fee-free basic bank accounts between July 2016 and June 2017
Nationwide, Clydesdale Yorkshire Banking Group, and Co-op have a larger market share of basic bank accounts than personal current accounts
Lloyds Banking Group accounts for almost half of the basic bank account market
Stephen Barclay, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury said:

Making sure that everyone has access to the financial services that they need is at the heart of our plan to build a fairer society and an economy that is fit for the future. The government has legislated to make sure fee-free basic bank accounts are available to those who need them and I am pleased to see that so many people - who might have previously been at risk of running up debt through bank charges - have access to a completely free account. It is important for a fair economy that banks continue to help all their customers to manage their finances confidently and responsibly.