Guernsey Community Savings

Since we opened our doors in September 2020, Guernsey Community Savings has provided life-changing support to more than 100 islanders who had previously been financially excluded from society because they didn’t have a bank account.

Our charity was set up in response to a growing problem of financial exclusion in the Bailiwick.

What do we mean by financial exclusion?

More and more local people are experiencing difficulties opening a bank account or finding that the bank has closed their account because of debt problems, a poor credit history or simply due to a pattern of transactions not acceptable to the bank’s algorithms.

Without a bank account, it’s very hard to find accommodation or be employed. Without a debit card, it’s very difficult to purchase goods and services locally as retailers move away from cash, and it’s impossible to buy anything online.
Often you end up paying more for services such as utilities because you can’t pay by direct debit.

The people we support have often spent years being knocked back, turned away and let down by the system. It has been incredibly rewarding for all of us at GCS to be able to arrange banking services for them, to help them to manage their money and to build their confidence so they can play a full part in society.