Access to financial services is vital to everyone, but rural areas face specific challenges. Our ‘Quids In’ campaign is trying to create greater awareness of the financial services needs of rural people: only around one in eight banks and building societies are in rural areas, though a fifth of the population live there; under a tenth of cashpoints are in rural areas, with fewer of these free to use ─ around 45% compared to 60% in urban areas
300,000 people in rural areas do not have a bank account; 22% of rural households live in poverty. Our report Promoting Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas provides an overview analysis of rurally distinctive features of financial exclusion, and successful elements of schemes which deliberately target financial exclusion in rural areas. Download the Full report or the Summary report: http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/Promoting%20Financial%20Inclusion%20in%20Rural%20Areas.pdf

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8 May 2008
© Commission for Rural Communities