The Civil Society Group (CSG) on banking issues has launched a joint report on the banking challenges that charities and other not for profit organisations have been experiencing.
Almost 2,000 representatives, mainly trustees and volunteers from small to medium size charities, took part in a survey launched by the CSG in March 2024. Of these:
- 167 of the respondents were from Northern Ireland
- 32 operate in the Republic of Ireland
- 46% were from urban areas
- 20% from suburban areas
- and 34% from rural areas.
Specific feedback from Northern Ireland included:
- Two thirds of respondents (67%) said they had encountered problems with adding or removing signatories from their account; 43% said their trustees had needed to attend in person to verify their identity.
- Almost two out of five (39%) said they had been asked to provide personal information for all their trustees, even those who were not signatories to the bank account.
- Bank charges for operating accounts (55%) and paying in cash/cheques (47%) were also frequently cited as a challenge.
- Of these respondents, 74% said their organisation used online banking, with just over half (51%) of these reporting that they have procedures in place to detect/prevent online fraud.
- The majority (53%) said banking took up over an hour a week, with nearly one quarter (22%) saying they had to spend over three hours each week on banking.
Punam McGookin, Head of Charity Services at the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, has welcomed the publication of the Charity Banking Challenges 2024 report, which she hopes will act as a catalyst for change.
