Have your say on government e-petitions

Establish a legal right to have a bank account

Submitted by David Terence Flaherty on Thursday 8th January 2026

Published on Friday 6th March 2026

Current status: Open

Open until: Sunday 6th September 2026

Current Signatures: 42
(count is updated approximately hourly)

Relevant Departments

Tagged with

Accounts ~ bank account ~ Banks ~ Basics ~ Busy ~ concerns ~ Criminal ~ decade ~ IMPACT ~ Law ~ place ~ Reasonable ~ work

Petition Action

Establish a legal right to have a bank account

Petition Details

Because of societal changes and how we pay for goods and services over the last decade plus, I think the right to have a bank account should be enshrined in law.
In this modern age it is a necessity to have a bank account as it directly effects day to day lives of everyone.

Additional Information

I understand there may be circumstances to de-banking someone - for instance, criminal behaviour but there needs to be a limit on banks’ powers.
So I ask the Government to enshrine a legal right that at least a basic bank account should always be attainable. Where business accounts are concerned if there is no criminal reason to close them then they should also be protected as this could impact the employees that are connected to a business.
Protections must be put in place so people can live and work.


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216.73.216.231 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:50:47 +0100