Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Barclays
BANKING CODE
STANDARDS BOARD
MYSTERY SHOPPING
EXERCISE ON
BASIC BANK
ACCOUNTS
Thank you for your letter of 24th April regarding
the Banking Code Standards (BCSB) Mystery Shopping survey of 2005.
We have very much valued the work that the BCSB
has undertaken in its annual mystery shopping exercises, as part
of its broader programme in addressing the development of basic
bank accounts. I therefore welcome the level of interest that
the Treasury Committee has taken regarding how the banks are progressing
in this regard.
You inquired about the possibility of the BCSB
revealing individual banks' performance within its 2005 report.
Given the needs of the BCSB to have certainty in planning its
key projects, our preference would be for the BCSB not to take
this action at this stage. Our main reason is that the Mystery
Shopping survey was set up under principles of confidentiality,
engendering trust among all participants (resulting in full disclosure
of the key issues at stake). We feel that it might cause confusion
if ad hoc requests for disclosure were made for similar
exercises in future.
However, given the timing of your Committee's
inquiry into Financial Inclusion and the important issues at stake,
I wanted to take this opportunity of advising you of Barclays
individual performance in the survey, where we were graded "amber".
This meant that a number of weaknesses and/or breaches of the
Banking Code were identified requiring corrective action.
We have reviewed all the weaknesses identified
by the BCSB and taken remedial actions for which we have been
commended. For example, the press release for Citizens Advice
recent report Banking Benefits included the following quote:
"Some banks are doing better than others.
For example, Barclays have recently made improvements including
displaying basic bank account application forms in all their branches
and modifying their rules on ID. Citizens Advice is urging all
banks to follow their lead and get on board with financial inclusion."
The key improvements which we have made are
set out below:
AVAILABILITY OF
LITERATURE
We have a combined basic bank account product
leaflet and application form, which was commended in the BCBS's
report for its clarity and content. We have changed our policy
so that we now display this leaflet with equal prominence alongside
our other priority product leaflets in our banking halls.
STAFF TRAINING
AND PRODUCT
AWARENESS
We have reviewed our staff training and introduced
a fully revised "foundation" course which makes clear
our policies and processes for opening basic bank accounts. We
have also sent out reminder communications to staff; introduced
changes; and built new checks into our processes to help embed
knowledge on an ongoing basis.
IDENTIFICATION AND
ADDRESS VERIFICATION
We have altered our processes so that applicants
no longer have to send their original ID&V documents into
our central processing unit. They now have the option to take
the documents to a local branch for inspection and return. (The
BCSB noted that we already had in place a free helpline which
applicants could also call for guidance on ID&V, including
which "non-standard" items would be acceptable. This
advice can also be obtained in-branch.)
ACCOUNT OPENING
TIMESCALES
It is important to note that we take no longer
to get a basic bank account up and running than we do any other
new current account, once we have a correctly completed application
form and acceptable ID&V in our possession. The changes we
have made to acceptance of ID&V have helped to reduce delays
caused by that particular aspect. Typically it takes four working
days to open an account and provide the card and PIN.
CREDIT REFERENCE
AGENCY SEARCHES
We have implemented a systems change in response
to the BCSB's concerns. This change means that we will no longer
leave a search footprint when we make searches solely for the
purpose of opening a new Cash Card account (because this does
not involve an application for credit).
The BCSB findings were based on mystery shopping
carried out in July and August 2005 and we have therefore made
much progress since then. I wanted you to be aware of our rating
under the survey and the improvements we have successfully embedded
as a result, given the particular timing of your Committee's inquiry
into Financial Inclusion. In normal circumstances, we would expect
that information given to BCSB in confidence would remain so,
enabling it to operate as a flexible self regulatory body with
a very active programme of surveys and reviews.
May 2006
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