Community Banking Partnership: A Joined-up Solution for Financial Inclusion

This article describes how the Community Banking Partnership (CBP) model can increase financial inclusion in the UK.

Over 25 percent of British households are unable to use mainstream financial services and have no savings to meet future needs. The CBP approach proposes to join different players such as credit unions, the community finance sector, banks and money advice agencies to deliver a one-stop-shop approach to community finance. Key features of the model include:

• Flexible model that is sensitive to local needs;
• Selection of team players that are able to respond to long-term demand in their local market, while delivering maximum social benefit;
• Provision of seamless service that offers savings facilities, loans, access to basic banking services, money advice and support to financially excluded households;
• Unique, local partnership structure that brings together best practices of community development finance institutions and credit unions, alongside technical expertise of banks and building societies;
• Provision of a pathway to sustainability to community finance partner organisations.

The CBP model combines lessons of good practice from international experience as well as from the British credit union movement, and adapts it to the UK context.