In our external engagement, and through our research, we have heard from customers, stakeholders, and members of the public that banks should demonstrate more support for customers in need to enhanced supports. Our priorities have been focussed on initiatives aimed at raising financial awareness and financial inclusion for such customers and undertaking more detailed research projects.
We continue to liaise closely with Safeguarding Ireland, through our role on the National Safeguarding Advisory Committee and State Payments Group. We have also engaged with MABS, the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, the Open Doors Initiative, and the European Consumer Debt Network.
Images from training for key workers
Late 2024 the IBCB hosted a roundtable discussion on supporting the financial wellbeing of survivors of DSGBV. The objective of the session was to hear from, and listen to, representatives from Safe Ireland organisations and to look at what practical activities the IBCB, its member banks, and other sector stakeholders, can take to further enhance financial wellbeing supports to victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
One of the items we heard was a request for the sector to receive training for staff to equip them with the skills to recognise and respond to domestic abuse and to have informed conversations with survivors. In October 2025 the IBCB engaged Safe Ireland to provide trauma-informed training to staff across our member banks which will focus on how to spot signs of domestic abuse and respond appropriately.
Images from Safe Ireland training with bank staff
Another of the items we heard, both from this session and in our engagement with Cuan, DSGBV Agency, was the need for the sector have a discussion on how victims and survivors can access finance. In November 2025, the IBCB hosted an event ‘Access to Finance for survivors of DSGBV’ with representation from across the sector registered to discuss how the banking sector can support survivors of domestic abuse with access to finance. The roundtable discussion was an excellent source of ideas and suggestions for the sector to collaborate to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and the IBCB will continue to work with our member banks and the wider sector to support the financial wellbeing of survivors of DSGBV.
Images from Access to Finance event, along with list of organisations registered
In 2024, the IBCB was pleased to launch a new initiative supported by TASC – a think tank for action on social change to address the pressing need for financial education among vulnerable young people. Having recognising the challenges this cohort face in accessing traditional education, the programme used a two-pronged approach:
The programme’s ultimate goal is to empower more young people across Ireland, providing them with the financial skills they need for financial independence and future success.
The programme also supports the National Plan for Financial Literacy announced in 2025, and specifically, the emphasis on supporting younger people especially those who are not in mainstream education or the workforce.
Staff from AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB all played a key role in the programme success. Their expertise in financial products, budgeting and planning enabled TASC to deliver practical and relatable training.
Financial literacy is essential for personal and social well-being. Many marginalised young people in Ireland can lack the skills to manage their finances effectively. This programme addressed the key issues identified in the research, namely:
Youth worker and Youthreach tutors are uniquely positioned to improve financial literacy due to their trusted relationships with young people:
The programme to date, has delivered multiple workshops with plans for more delivery into 2026.
Evaluation to date has been very positive with 78% of attendees rating the training as excellent.
The IBCB is pleased to continue our support for this programme as we believe initiatives like this will help marginalised young people and ultimately provide better opportunities for financial wellbeing and independence.
The Hub contents include:
Please visit www.youthfrt.ie for more information.
You can watch this video of the supports available to survivors of Gender-Based Violence within the IBCB member banks, AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB.
In 2022, the IBCB, partnered with TASC and Safe Ireland, with an initiative to provide financial wellbeing training to key workers, who work directly with survivors of domestic abuse. This initiative has the potential to benefit the nearly 15,000 women and children across Ireland, who use specialised domestic violence services every year. To date more than 100 key workers have been trained on financial wellbeing to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. You can learn more about this initiative on www.frtdv.ie
In October 2024 the IBCB hosted a roundtable discussion to support the financial wellbeing of survivors of domestic abuse. The session included representatives from the IBCB, AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB, Safe Ireland services and other DSGBV organisations, TASC, Central Credit Register, An Post, and the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU).
The event was hosted in Athlone to ensure regional representation from across the Safe Ireland network. The IBCB hosted this roundtable discussion to facilitate a two-way conversation about the banking needs of victims and survivors of domestic and financial abuse and how the sector can further support this cohort.
The objective of the session was to hear from and listen to representatives from Safe Ireland organisations and to look at what practical activities the IBCB, its member banks, and other sector stakeholders, can take to further enhance financial wellbeing supports to victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
The event included an overview of the Providing the Tools for Financial Wellbeing initiative, presentations from our member banks on what supports they currently have in place for victims and survivors of gender-based violence, presentations from An Post and the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) in relation to their services, a presentation from Susan Robertson, Central Credit register on the Central Credit Register report and explanatory statement, and a table discussion.
On the back of the feedback and what we heard at the roundtable event, the IBCB created a short video (above) to highlight gender-based violence and financial abuse and to highlight the supports available to survivors of gender-based violence within the IBCB member banks, AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB.
The IBCB posted a number of social media posts during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, including resharing posts from Safe Ireland, sharing information about the ‘Providing the tools for financial wellbeing’ initiative and sharing the above video to raise awareness of gender-based violence.
Our member banks have supports available, for anyone who needs assistance with their banking.
The IBCB will continue to work with our member banks to consider how we can best support victims and survivors of gender-based violence.
In March 2024 the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB) hosted a Financial Inclusion event attended by its member banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB), Inclusion Ireland, people from across Ireland with intellectual disabilities (ID) and other key stakeholders. The event is part of an IBCB initiative to support people with intellectual disabilities towards financial independence.
In 2023, the IBCB, in collaboration with Inclusion Ireland held customer listening sessions across Ireland to meet people with intellectual disabilities and to learn from their interactions with the IBCB’s member banks. The insights gained provided valuable, firsthand information on how their banking needs could be met and what actions the banks could take to better support financial inclusion.
Financial Inclusion is a cornerstone of the work programme of the IBCB and through our éist surveys, and the customer listening sessions, we are working to highlight its importance for people with intellectual disabilities and people who need additional support with their banking. Our member banks have a range of supports available for customers who require enhanced assistance in their banking lives.
The event also launched the IBCB ‘Banking How To’ guides, which were developed based on feedback from the customer listening sessions. The guides are in an easy-to-read format to help people with some common banking transactions. The IBCB, along with our member banks created four guides for lodging funds into a bank account, making a bank transfer, paying a bill, or rent, and setting up a standing order. The guides are designed to support and empower people with financial independence and to facilitate positive engagement with banking services. The guides can be found on our website here.
The Press release for the event can be found here.
The purpose of the event was to:
The event was attended by a number of stakeholder organisations:
There are also a number of stakeholder organisations who we engaged with prior to the event:
The insights provided at this event are valuable insights for the IBCB and our member banks. We will share these insights with the IBCB Board, our member banks will share them internally, and we will consider what we can learn from them and what actions we can take to support better financial inclusion.
We also heard that branches are a vitally important resource. And the importance of a trusted friendly face is important to help and provide support. Each of our member banks recognise the JAM card, and are committed to ensuring this is evident within their branches.
In April 2024 the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB) hosted a Customer Listening session with Older People (Over 65s). Previously, IBCB held a listening session with this cohort in 2019 and they are also surveyed as a cohort within the annual éist Public Trust in Banking surveys.
Financial Awareness and Inclusion are strategic objectives of the IBCB Work Programme as evidenced through periodic éist surveys. The customer listening sessions gives us insights into the challenges for Older People around Banking in 2024. We are able to promote these findings with IBCB Board, stakeholders and the Member Banks. The Over 65’s account for 800k of 5m ROI population (16% CSO 2023) which is set to rise by 2040 to 25% and 2050 (33%). We are aware from our surveys that c.80% of consumers regularly use digital banking which suggests c.20% are dependent on “over the counter” &/or traditional service. We accept the non-digitalised % may actually be higher in this cohort given a general acceptance that this cohort potentially has a disproportionately higher number lacking in IT competence and/or digital experience relative to other cohorts. The Member Banks increasingly have a range of supports available for customers who require enhanced assistance for their banking.
The session included representatives from our Member Banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB), Age Action and other key stakeholders. The insights gained provided information on how their banking needs could be met and what actions the banks could take to better support financial inclusion.
The purpose of the event was to:
The event was attended by a number of stakeholder organisations:
There are also stakeholder organisations who we engaged with prior to the event:
The Branch Experience:
Deposits:
Communications:
Other:
The feedback gained at this session are valuable insights directly from the cohort.
Our member banks are committed to supporting change and initiatives which provide for enhanced financial inclusion for this cohort.
Our member banks have supports available, see below.
The findings of these customer listening sessions were highlighted and discussed with the IBCB board and our member banks. At these sessions we discussed what we heard from the people we met, and how we could best support their banking needs. In some cases, our member banks already had supports in place, and we needed to raise awareness of them.
Our member banks have a range of supports available for people who need additional assistance with their banking. We have highlighted these on our website with links to further information for each of them.
AIB
Need Extra Help
Additional Support helpline on 0818 227 056. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.
Bank of Ireland
Extra Help for Customers, Families and Carers
Customers can text EXTRAHELP to 50365 to get a link to the site.
PTSB
Enhanced Customer Support
Phone number: 0818 818 721 or +353 1 655 0581
We heard how important having a bank account is key for independence for customers with intellectual disabilities. Each of our member banks, among other products, offers a Basic Bank Account. A ‘basic bank account’ is a current account that allows you to have access to essential daily banking services if you do not currently have a bank account in Ireland. The IBCB has a Guide to the Basic Bank Account. This guide is for people who may need or want a basic bank account. It explains how to contact a bank, what to expect and what you must do. The IBCB and our member banks want to promote access to banking so that everyone can access financial services. The guide is written in plain English and is available in 10 languages.
Each of our member banks do recognise the JAM card, however not everyone was aware of that. All of our member banks have committed to ensuring this is evident within their branches.
One of the suggestions we heard at the sessions was to have some Banking How To guides in easy to ready (etr) format for some common banking transactions. The IBCB, along with our member banks worked with ACE Communication to create these guides. The 4 guides are for making a lodgement (putting money into my account), a bank transfer (sending money from one account to another), paying a bill or rent and setting up a standing order. They can be found on our website.
The IBCB and member banks has worked with the Irish Prison Service throughout 2022 and 2023 to support financial inclusion for persons in custody.
In our work to facilitate cultural change in banking, the IBCB has been privileged to partner with TASC (Think tank for Action on Social Change) and Safe Ireland in helping to financially empower thousands of domestic violence survivors, addressing financial abuse and enhancing financial literacy.
Partnering with bodies who are seeking to make significant societal changes is central to our work. Mancy facets of culture in Ireland need to change and this is not limited to the banking sector. Our partnership with TASC and Safe Ireland, will provide the nearly 15,000 women and children who use specialised domestic violence services every year with the kind of support that makes a real difference in their lives. The initiative was also supported by MABS, the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, Ireland.
It is estimated that that over 90% of victims of domestic violence in Ireland also experience financial abuse. We are privileged to have partnered with TASC and Safe Ireland, in funding their Financial Resilience Training initiative, while also providing input into training materials, and coordinating the bank staff participating in the training sessions. This partnership will help to financially empower survivors of domestic violence and is a step in securing higher levels of financial literacy and inclusion in Irish society.
The purpose of the IBCB is to work with our member banks to build trustworthiness with the public and that behavioural and cultural change is evidenced by actions not words. Improving levels of financial awareness and resilience are key elements of this. Our support for TASC and Safe Ireland’s financial resilience training initiative underscores our dedication to positive change for the benefit of customers and society.
TASC held an event to launch this initiative and the evaluation report on September 20th. Our CEO, Marion Kelly, spoke at the event and was also interviewed on Today with Claire Byrne, alongside Mary McDermott, CEO, Safe Ireland.
A dedicated webpage has been launched, which hosts essential information and knowledge for those wishing to engage with this vital Financial Resilience Training (frt) initiative. Please engage with and share this webpage. We never know who in our lives or network might need the information it contains.
The IBCB created this short video about the initiative for staff of our member banks. It is written from the perspective of one of the staff members who were involved in the initiative. Please watch our video to find out more.
Watch the video above.
In 2022 the IBCB launched a Guide to the Basic Bank Account providing essential guidance for customers, and particularly customers in a vulnerable position, to apply for a bank account to support inclusion and accessibility to banking in Ireland. The guide was developed and launched with our member banks.
The IBCB undertook qualitative research in 2020 to better understand the needs and wants of people in accessing and utilising banking services. In doing so, it sought the views of organisations that support marginalised and vulnerable groups who experience difficulties accessing banking products. The research identified a clear need to raise awareness of the basic bank account as a first step towards financial inclusion across society.
A basic bank account is a current account that provides essential daily banking services, which all residents of the EU have the right to, no matter what their financial situation. The basic bank account financially empowers customers in a vulnerable position, supporting peoples’ financial freedom and providing dignity and access to a better life for many.
Our research also indicated that language barriers create further challenges for customers to access financial services. As a result, we translated the guide into Arabic, French, Lithuanian, Polish, Pashto, Urdu, Portuguese, and Mandarin. We selected these languages on the basis of an identified need to help access financial products and services. We subsequently translated the guide into Ukrainian, following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine and have provided copies of the guide to organisations supporting customers, including MABS, National Advocacy Service, Safe Ireland and the Department of Justice.
Click Here for more information. The guides can be found here.
In February 2022, the IBCB announced a partnership with TASC (Think-tank for Action on Social Change) and Safe Ireland, coinciding with the launch of our Guide to the Basic Bank Account, to provide financial resilience training to victims of domestic violence. This was delivered through funding, subject matter expertise and support, in conjunction with member banks. The programme was delivered as a ‘train the trainer’ programme, which we hope will provide a lasting, nationwide impact. Safe Ireland estimated that the training has the potential to benefit at least 11,000 women and over 2,500 children per year. It is widely recognised that the provision of targeted knowledge and skills in money management are a significant benefit to service users, reducing vulnerability. Enhancing the financial independence of victims of domestic violence directly creates capacity to act and to leave abusive homes – to survive and thrive. The IBCB worked closely with TASC and Safe Ireland throughout 2022 to develop this programme.
In September 2021, the IBCB facilitated a roundtable discussion between the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) and member banks, to provide an informal opportunity to discuss areas for improvement and interaction between banks and the ISI, in support of customers in financial difficulty. The outcome of this discussion was agreement between participants in member banks and the ISI that member banks and the ISI would engage directly with each other with any feedback, in particular on the processes with Personal Insolvency Practitioners (PIPs), with a focus on improving process, communication and applying learnings to help customers who are in long-term arrears.
In light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on consumers and businesses, our financial awareness activities in the period focussed on activities and engagements to raise awareness and support consumers, in particular in areas such as payment breaks, and the range of alternative options available following payment breaks and specific initiatives to raise awareness for SMEs and Farmers. Our activities also included initiatives for customers in a vulnerable position and bereaved customers. Through this work, we engaged with member banks, the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) and organisations such as the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) and the Society of St. Vincent De Paul.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the IBCB highlighted the needs of vulnerable customers. Some, who experienced vulnerability prior to the pandemic faced an exacerbation of their circumstances and a significant number of bank customers have experienced vulnerability because of the impact of the virus on their health or financial circumstances. The IBCB highlighted steps taken by member banks and the banking industry to provide systemic payment breaks, followed by a range of solutions to customers experiencing difficulty in making loan repayments. We also highlighted positive steps taken by member banks to provide additional supports for customers in a vulnerable position, with specific times available for branch banking, dedicated phone lines, companion cards and other supports. In addition, we have promoted campaigns aimed at reducing financial abuse and fraud.
During 2020, we contributed to consultations related to aspects of supports for customers in a vulnerable position. In May 2020, we responded to the Law Reform Commission’s Issues Paper on ‘A Regulatory Framework for Adult Safeguarding’. The IBCB response focused on financial abuse which impacts on bank customers, bank staff, and institutions. The categories of financial abuse raised in the issues paper include thefts and scams, financial victimisation, coercion, signs of possible financial exploitation, and money management difficulties. These are issues which are also of concern to the banking industry, and all IBCB member banks have existing services in place to protect and support customers who may experience financial abuse.
