The ARC Banking Matters to Me research highlighted the need for resources to help people with a learning disability understand banks and banking products and services. We are working together with United Response to develop these.
Through Making Money Easier we have developed a range of accessible tools and resources aimed at making financial products and services accessible to people with learning disabilities.
Thesel comprise:
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The creation of memorable, accessible symbols (graphic images) and words to illustrate key financial terms, processes and concepts, to form a financial “picture bank” available on CD Rom.
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A Making Money Easier glossary with easy words and explanations of key financial terms, processes and concepts using these symbols.
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A Making Money Easy guide to Banking, covering core banking services – again using these pictures and symbols but explaining core financial products and services in more depth (e.g. a guide to choosing products, how to pay bills online, how to manage your money etc)
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Supporting materials to explain how the core materials should be used – for maximum effectiveness, advocates, carers and support staff need to know how to use the resources with people with learning disabilities whom they support, and this part of the project will comprise the creation of a simple companion guide to the resources
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A web information portal, hosting all the above resources and providing a central hub of tools and information on financial inclusion for people with learning disabilities. This would be linked to the Treasury’s Facilitating Access Campaign, to other sources of broader financial inclusion information and to UR and ARC’s own websites.
This work is supported by Friends Provident Foundation together with the Now Lets Talk Money Campaign and HSBC.