Economic abuse advocacy around banking helps victim-survivors regain safe, independent control of their money while reducing opportunities for perpetrators to continue economic abuse.
In Surviving Economic Abuse’s 2026 survey of professionals working within the coordinated community response, almost half (47%) had supported a client with banking issues or access to a bank account during the previous year.
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Why safe banking matters
Economic abuse involves the restriction, exploitation or sabotage of a person’s access to money and economic resources. Without secure access to income, savings and financial information, victim-survivors may remain financially dependent on, or economically entangled with, the perpetrator long after leaving.
Safe banking is often essential to safety planning. Safe banking can help victim-survivors protect their income, reduce economic dependence on the perpetrator and build the foundations needed to flee safely and rebuild after abuse.
How banking advocacy can make a difference
The following case study illustrates how economic abuse advocacy can help victim-survivors to regain control of their finances and strengthen their economic independence.
The situation:
A woman experiencing domestic abuse had her finances controlled by her partner, who had access to her bank card, income, and financial information. She had little visibility over her own money and was unable to safely manage her finances independently.
As the abuse escalated, she became increasingly concerned about missing funds and her ability to support herself. However, she did not feel able to challenge this or seek help while the abuse was ongoing.
Without intervention, she remained financially dependent on her partner, with ongoing risk that her income would continue to be taken or misused, limiting her ability to leave or rebuild her independence. Living Without Abuse (LWA)’s economic abuse advocacy was critical in increasing her financial independence and economic safety.
The economic abuse advocacy:
- LWA built trust to support safe disclosure of economic abuse
- LWA supported her to disclose the abuse to her bank
- LWA helped her initiate an investigation by the bank into missing funds
- LWA supported her to close her previous bank account and open a new, safe and independent bank account
- LWA support ensured she had safer access to her income going forward
What changed:
- Regained control over her income and bank account
- Reduced risk of further financial exploitation
- Increased financial independence and safety
- Greater confidence in managing her own finances
Why this matters:
- Control of banking is a key mechanism of economic abuse
- Safe, independent accounts are critical for financial recovery
- Banks can play an important role when economic abuse is disclosed
- Trusted support is often needed to enable safe disclosure
Banking advocacy: practitioner checklist
This SAFE checklist highlights key actions that a domestic abuse practitioner may take to help victim-survivors regain control of their finances and reduce opportunities for ongoing economic abuse.
Not every action will be appropriate in every case and professional judgement should always be guided by the victim-survivor’s circumstances and safety needs.
S – See the whole picture
Build an understanding of the victim-survivor’s banking and financial situation:
- Identify key accounts, income, debts and financial commitments
- Explore where the perpetrator has access, control or visibility
A – Assess banking safety
- Check who has access to cards, PINs, passwords, banking apps and security information
- Consider whether changing banking arrangements could alert the perpetrator or increase risk
F – Facilitate action
Help the victim-survivor contact their bank and support them to advocate for the response they need:
- Agree what they want to achieve and support safe contact with their bank
- Use SEA’s Banking Support Directory to identify specialist teams and available support
- Refer for specialist debt or legal advice where needed
E – Enable greater control
Support practical steps towards greater economic independence, guided by the victim-survivor’s priorities:
- Explore options such as securing banking access, opening a safe independent bank account or redirecting income
- Support the victim-survivor to raise concerns about banking activity linked to the abuse and follow up on actions agreed with the bank
Top tips:
- Safety comes before financial separation. Never assume that immediately changing banking arrangements or opening a new account is safe.
- Keep control with the victim-survivor. Their priorities and assessment of risk should guide what happens and when.
- Look beyond the financial problem. Banking difficulties may be part of a wider pattern of coercive control and should be considered alongside safeguarding and wider support needs. Our DASH and DARA tools can support you to risk assess.
- Know the limits of your role. Banking advocacy can support a victim-survivor to understand and pursue their options but should not replace regulated debt or legal advice where this is needed. The Centre of Excellence for Debt and Economic Abuse Services (CEDEAS) Helpline has more information on economic abuse aware debt advice.
Who can provide this advocacy?
Supporting safe banking is not solely the responsibility of domestic abuse practitioners. Practitioners across the coordinated community response may identify economic abuse, provide initial support, or help victim-survivors access specialist banking assistance.
Domestic abuse services, housing, health, social care, welfare advice, employment services and community organisations all have a role to play, supported by effective partnership working and referral pathways.
Banking advocacy is especially relevant for specialist domestic abuse services, banking and financial services, debt advisers, welfare rights advisers and money guidance services.
What support can banks and building societies provide?
Many banks and building societies have processes and specialist teams that can support customers affected by economic abuse. Understanding the support available can help practitioners make effective referrals and support victim-survivors to engage safely with their bank.
Banks and building societies can help victim-survivors take steps to regain control of their money. This may include de-linking their finances from those of the abuser and suggesting ways of ensuring that the abuser cannot access their banking information.
Watch this video to understand more about the support banks and building societies can offer the victim-survivors you’re working with.
How banks can helpOur Banking Support Directory includes information about the support that some of the UK’s major banks and building societies can offer someone who has experienced economic abuse.
Browse the Banking Support DirectoryJoin our practitioners’ network to stay up to date with the latest information and guidance on economic abuse advocacy to support safe banking.
Join the practitioners’ networkReflective questions for commissioners
Commissioners play an important role in ensuring that victim-survivors can access timely and effective banking advocacy. The questions below may help assess local provision and identify gaps in support:
- Can every victim-survivor access specialist banking advocacy when they need it?
- Do commissioned services have relationships with local or national banks?
- Can practitioners quickly identify the correct banking contacts?
- Is digital financial safety included within local domestic abuse pathways?
- How do we know banking advocacy is improving victim-survivor safety and economic independence?
