ODDA Writes To FCA, Chancellor and Small Business Commissioner To Highlight Impact of Debanking on Dating Sector

Our members face increasing difficulties in accessing banking services here in the UK. With a major High Street Bank recently announcing that it will no longer accept online dating firms as customers, we’ve written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to express our concerns.

While new ‘debanking’ rules coming into effect later this year will make it harder for banks to close accounts at short notice, we know that some are trying to get ahead of the new rules by taking action now, leaving firms in our sector rushing to find alternative providers at incredibly short notice.

No-one should be denied banking services because of the sector they are in. Online dating contributes over £400 million a year to the UK economy. It is one of the most popular (and safest) ways of meeting other people with 5 million adults having used a dating app in the past 12 months. And it’s a sector that is predicted to grow significantly over the coming years – yet firms are being told their custom is no longer welcome. We think this flies in the face of the Government’s growth agenda – that’s why we’ve also sent a copy of our letter to the Chancellor and the Small Business Commissioner.

We want to work with the FCA, banks and regulators to help them understand more about our sector. We also want to understand what we can do and look forward to a positive response from the FCA.

The ODDA works on behalf of its members to ensure they are treated fairly by banks and other institutions. Click the links to read the full copies of our letters to the Chancellor, Small Business Commissioner and FCA.