It Is Not a Mystery – Make Banking Accessible

Date posted: 6th January 2025

Thomas Pocklington Trust is concerned and disappointed by the recent news about Barclays’ mystery shopper programme, which involves paying customers to pretend to be blind or deaf. While we appreciate Barclays’ effort to explore inclusive and accessible banking, this approach misses the mark and does not reflect the real experiences and challenges faced by individuals with sight loss and other disabilities. Pretending to have disabilities for testing purposes does not capture the true essence of living with a disability and doesn’t accurately represent the barriers our community faces.

In April 2023, our Engagement Manager in the North West, Kelly Barton and the Manchester Sight Loss Council, provided Visual Impairment (V I) training to Barclays staff and offered mystery shopping and access audits for more of their branches. Unfortunately, these suggestions did not receive a response, which we believe was a missed opportunity for the bank. Kelly shares her reaction to the news:

“When I delivered a vision awareness session at Barclays, they seemed genuinely receptive and wanted to make positive change. This news today comes as a real disappointment. There are so many blind and partially sighted people out there who would be more than willing to mystery shop for Barclays. People pretending to be blind can never understand the real barriers. Our community desperately needs accessible banking services and I’d be pleased to see Barclays successfully implement this nationally.”

We encourage Barclays to engage directly with individuals who have actual visual impairments. Working with real customers with disabilities will provide genuine insights and help the bank develop more effective and respectful services. Authentic engagement is key to creating an inclusive environment that truly meets the needs of all customers.

We are ready to continue working with Barclays and any bank to improve their services for customers with disabilities and we are looking forward to hearing from them. We started off well, offering our expertise and resources to help train staff and develop better practices. Together, we can ensure that Barclays’ services are accessible and inclusive for everyone.

This incident highlights the broader issues of accessibility and inclusion in banking and finance. We hope this serves as a reminder of the importance of treating all customers with dignity and respect, regardless of their abilities. To emphasise this concern, we are running a campaign petitioning for better accessibility in banking. Read more and sign the petition here: Make Banking Accessible for Blind and Partially Sighted People – Thomas Pocklington Trust