Supporting People with Mental Health and Money Challenges
Money and mental health are deeply connected. When someone’s mental health dips, managing money can quickly become overwhelming and when finances spiral, recovery becomes even harder. According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, “half of all people in problem debt also have a mental health problem”. Yet most banking systems still assume that everyone can manage their money in the same way, at all times, with the same capacity for decision-making. That assumption leaves millions without the kind of safety net that modern technology could easily provide. It’s time for banking systems to evolve, not just to move faster, but to move kinder.
Understanding the Problem: A Cycle That Traps Millions
When someone experiences poor mental health, simple financial tasks can feel impossible. Paying bills, checking balances, even opening banking apps can trigger anxiety. In some cases, impulsive spending or financial scams can take hold during moments of crisis. For those with ongoing mental health conditions, this creates a vicious cycle: the stress of money problems worsens mental health, and worsening mental health deepens money problems. Traditional banking systems aren’t designed to interrupt that cycle. They assume full independence, not interdependence. But real life — and real well-being — often relies on trusted carers, friends, or family members providing a helping hand. Modern core banking technology can bridge that gap, turning vulnerability into a design priority.
People with problem debt are significantly more likely to experience mental health problems
- Half (46%) of people in problem debt also have a mental health problem.
- 86% of respondents to a Money and Mental Health survey of nearly 5,500 people with experience of mental health problems said that their financial situation had made their mental health problems worse.
People with mental health problems are also more likely to be in problem debt
- Almost one in five (18%) people with mental health problems are in problem debt. People experiencing mental health problems are three and a half times more likely to be in problem debt than people without mental health problems (5%).
- 72% of respondents to Money and Mental Health’s survey said that their mental health problems had made their financial situation worse.
Core Banking Solutions for Real-Life Support: Empathy at Scale
Modern core banking platforms offer the functionality and flexibility to enable banks to design accounts and controls that adapt to individual needs safely, securely, and with dignity. Here are some examples of how these systems could transform support for people facing both money and mental health challenges:
Cards Designed for Vulnerable Customers: A Guardian in Your Wallet
Imagine a bank card that understands when you need to slow down. Modern technology makes it simple to provide built-in spending controls with daily limits, blocked merchant categories (think gambling or payday loans), or even a “pause” button when someone feels they might overspend impulsively. They can integrate with wellbeing apps or alert systems, sending gentle nudges: “You’re nearing your weekly cap, breathe, pause, do you need help?” People retain independence and autonomy but with a safety net when they need it most. For someone navigating depression or mania, this isn’t restriction; it’s relief.
Carer’s Cards: Empowering Support Without Removing Control
For people who rely on carers or family members, managing shared finances can be a minefield. Handing over a debit card or PIN isn’t safe or practical, but that’s often the only option today. With modern core banking, carers can have linked accounts or cards with permissions set by the account holder. A parent could set rules to allow a carer to buy groceries or pay bills but block other types of transactions and any access to linked savings accounts. It’s transparency without loss of control, dignity without risk. Emotionally, it shifts from ‘takeover’ to teamwork, easing isolation for the 1 in 4 adults facing mental health issues yearly.
Third-Party Notifications: Early Awareness, Zero Drama
Sometimes, the best form of protection is early awareness. Provided they are using banking tech that provides real-time data and open APIs, banks can offer optional notifications to a trusted person. For example, if an account dips below a set balance, a direct debit fails, or spending spikes suddenly, a discreet alert to a named person can be triggered “Balance low, gentle check-in?” No full access, just a prompt for support. For someone struggling, this allows a supporter to step in before a crisis escalates. It’s a simple feature with immense power to prevent harm and anxiety.
Third-Party Payment Controls: Shared Responsibility, Full Consent
Taking it further, real-time data capabilities can enable shared consent features embedded right into the payment journey. A carer, support worker, or family member could approve or decline specific transactions based on pre-agreed rules, like flagging purchases over £100 during vulnerable periods or purchases related to gambling. This isn’t about removing autonomy, it’s consent-based shared responsibility. The account holder stays in control but gains a safeguard that mirrors real support networks.
Why Core Banking Matters: Flexibility Fuels Humanity
All these ideas rely on one thing: the flexibility of the core banking system itself. Legacy platforms make it difficult to introduce nuanced features like shared permissions or consent-based controls. They’re rigid, slow, and costly to change. Modern, cloud-native cores, like SaaScada, are built differently. They’re designed to deliver real-time data, granular product configurability, simple partner integrations and ethical innovation. That flexibility allows banks to turn empathetic ideas into scalable products, quickly, securely, and in ways that genuinely improve lives. When we talk about “banking transformation,” this is what it should mean: not just slicker apps, but better humanity baked into the foundation.
The Bigger Picture: Dignity, Inclusion, and Prevention
Supporting vulnerable customers isn’t just a compliance box to tick. It’s a matter of financial dignity. By building empathy into the very core of their offering, banks can help prevent harm, reduce anxiety, and support recovery — all while strengthening trust and loyalty. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute advocates for design that treats vulnerability as part of normal life, not an edge case. Core platforms like SaaScada are uniquely positioned to make this vision real, potentially lifting millions out of debt-mental health spirals.
From Reactive to Proactive Banking: Compassion as Code
It’s time to move from crisis management to prevention. By enabling full configuration flexibility, to set limits, introduce spending safeguards and even deliver third-party notifications to specified individuals, technology can deliver the balance of independence and safety needed to protect those who are struggling and while also building confidence. They rebuild the link between well-being and financial control. By embedding compassion into the heart of financial systems, we can help millions live more independently, safely, and with greater peace of mind. Technology can’t solve every problem, but it can make banking kinder. At SaaScada, we’ve made it possible for compassion and control to coexist by design. Let’s build systems that protect, empower, and include. Because the next transaction could be the one that changes a life.
