A Detailed Study of Financial Exclusion in the UK

The concept of financial exclusion has been the subject of increasing interest and debate and is characterised as a situation where a proportion of the population have limited access to mainstream financial services. Previous studies of financial exclusion in the UK have generally focused on a particular financial service, such as bank accounts, and have incorporated differing methods and models of investigation. Thus, comparing and contrasting significant influences on exclusion across a range of financial services proves problematic. The current study uses a common model to test and compare influences on exclusion for a wide range of financial services. Findings show that the most consistent and significant influences on financial exclusion are employment status, household income, and housing tenure, closely followed by marital status, age, and level of academic qualification. A more complex relationship with the remaining explanatory variables is apparent.