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Barclays searches prisons for new clients
03 August 2010
Barclays Bank is sending female staff members into prisons across the country to recruit inmates as new customers. The High Street bank has chosen the unusual tactic to boost the number of account holders, but critics have labelled the scheme scandalous, the Daily Mail reports. The female customer services workers have been sent to 17 jails including Parkhurst and Albany on the Isle of Wight, where large numbers of sex offenders and paedophiles are held, according to reports. A source at HMP Isle of Wight said: "The bank has a captive market of accounts by cashing in on prison inmates. "And remember they are sending in young women and men to deal with hardened criminals. It doesn't seem right." Barclays said the program was about promoting 'financial inclusion' of people who had no accounts. The bank says the scheme enabled prisoners to manage their money. A Prison Service spokesman says: "Engaging the expertise of independent organisations like business and charities is vital to changing people's lives and stopping the revolving door of crime." Published by IFAOnline
