Wales Co-operative Centre
Canolfan Cwdweithredol Cymru

What is financial inclusion?

Financial inclusion is about ensuring that everyone in our community has the opportunity to access the financial services and products, and are comfortable in managing their money.

Services that help with this are:

• Access to affordable and responsible credit
• Access to an appropriate bank account
• Access to free and impartial debt advice
• Access to savings facilities
• Access to basic home contents insurance

Why is it so important?

Financial inclusion helps with social inclusion. Whole communities can suffer from a lack of financial services and therefore financial exclusion.

Financial inclusion can be a major contributor to getting out of poverty.

Financial Inclusion Champions

What are they?

This is a team of people at the Wales Co-operative Centre who work with a wide range of organisations to help them to increase access to financial services.

This may be, for example, a Local Authority or Housing Association which would like to help people to manage their money better.

What do they do?

The Financial Inclusion Champions work with Government to help them form their policies to help people who struggle with managing their money.

They also work with banks, credit unions and other financial services companies to make access to services as easy and appropriate as possible.

 More information

Welsh Assembly Government report - financial inclusion and the impact of financial education