More Carrot Than Stick

The Dept for Enterprise has spoken to the Isle of Man Bank, but not reached out to charities ahead of the introduction of charges for manual banking services in May.

The Isle of Man Bank’s owner RBSI had intended to introduce the charges last year, but agreed to delay the introduction by 12 months after talks with charities and MHKs.

In Keys this week, Jason Moorhouse and Tim Glover quizzed Enterprise Minister over what talks have been had over the charges and whether his dept had considered taking legislative action to stop them.

Dr Alex Allinson said that the bank has ‘had discussions with the Isle of Man Bank, and others in the banking industry, regarding the provision of banking services to charitable organisations’.

He added: ‘A review which looks at issues around access to cash has been under way for a number of months, and this review includes the subject of services to charitable organisations. The Department will continue to work with all stakeholders regarding the provision of banking services, based on the recommendations of the report which will be published shortly.’

Legislation?

Mr Moorhouse raised the point of whether his dept had considered taking legislative steps to ensure charities have access to free banking services. However Dr Allinson said this was a ‘more complex question’ and that the island ‘needs to remain a competitive jurisdiction in a highly competitive world in which we operate, particularly for the large financial institutions that pay tax and employ thousands of people on the island’.

Dr Allinson said that while he was sure this could be explored with the finance sector, he was more open to working with them to see how banking service can be provided to charities, clubs and societies, as well as people who don’t have bank accounts.

Carrots and Sticks

Mr Glover said that listening to Dr Allinson, it appeared his dept was ‘more carrot than stick’ and asked him if he was ruling out legislating or not. The Minister replied that the Finance Agency and DfE was ‘very much working with the industry, rather than telling them exactly what to do’.

He addd: ‘There are a number of carrots available in terms of future development for creating additional banking services on the Island to meet the needs of the population, at the same time as expanding the ability for the finance industry to provide more alternatives to commercial properties and commercial organisations as well. Certainly, legislation has a role in that, both in terms of increasing the regulation but also increasing the facilities available to people on the Isle of Man.’

When Mr Moorhouse asked if the DfE had reached out to local charities, the Minister, rather surprisingly, said it ‘has not actually reached out to the third sector in terms of what they need for banking and which services they need’ but that he personally had been involved in various discussions.

Dr Allinson also didn’t provide Mr Moorhouse with a timeframe for when the report he mentioned earlier will be published but thanked him for raising the issue and noted that this change in policy by RBSI isn’t only affecting Manx charities, but also those in the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.