Andrew Gething (pictured), managing director of MorganAsh, has urged firms to get to grips with customer vulnerability and have the right processes, data and technology in place.
Gething’s remarks followed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ‘Financial Lives survey’, which found that 49% of UK adults, over 26 million people, had at least one sign of vulnerability.
Around 4.8 million adults were in poor health, with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and 58% of this group had difficulty dealing with providers or managing finances.
The survey also showed that people facing an income shock or relationship breakdown were most likely to struggle with financial matters.
One in 10 people in Britain had no cash savings, while another 21% had less than £1,000 set aside for emergencies.
Around 1.6 million borrowers received support from mortgage or credit lenders to help with repayments in the past two years.
This data followed the FCA’s vulnerability review, which found many firms still could not monitor or act on outcomes for vulnerable customers, despite a renewed focus on consumer duty.
Nick Hulme from the FCA said: “Vulnerability is the lens through which we are looking at firms’ overall implementation of the Consumer Duty.”
Gething said: “When you consider these important findings, it will simply not wash if your firm still says that you have a small percentage of vulnerable customers – or even none.
“We know from other FCA research that this is a commonly held view in certain sectors.
“Just as worrying is that many firms say customer vulnerability is not their concern.
“If it wasn’t clear enough already, there is a pressing need for all financial services firms to get to grips with customer vulnerability and equip themselves with the tools and technology to make this happen.”
Gething added: “The survey demonstrates the size and scale of customer vulnerability in the UK, whether it’s because of poor health, negative life events, low resilience or low capability.
“We absolutely need to know who those customers are – so we can provide the right service, support and importantly, the right outcomes.
“No sector is immune either – users of the MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) report identifying figures in line with the FCA’s Financial Lives survey, and our partners at PayPlan say that an increasing number of people with mortgages are using their debt advice and solutions.”
He said: “With the right technology and processes in place, it’s easily possible to identify vulnerable customers consistently, monitor outcomes and report on findings.
“This also provides robust data which is absolutely critical. Doing this, we can not only ensure we minimise potential harm, but also improve on outcomes, identify commercial opportunities and deliver a far better and more personalised service.
“The evidence is all there; it’s up to financial services firms to respond to these findings and ensure they are stepping up for the many vulnerable people who inevitably make up their customer base.”
