Opening a bank account for your Direct Payments money
Because your Direct Payments money is public money (it comes from the council), you will need to provide evidence of how you spend it by keeping some records.
However, we realise that not everybody has these pieces of identification. If you do not have the sort of documents the bank accepts, talk to the staff and explain what sort of documents you can produce. Banks have special procedures to deal with such cases, which may involve consulting a more senior person or specialist part of the bank.
Some banks will accept a letter from your social worker, confirming your name, address and that the account is going to be used to have your Direct Payments money paid into it. Speak to your social worker or a member of the Direct Payments Support Team if you need this.
We need to make sure that you’re spending your Direct Payments money in the way it was agreed you would when it was set up. The way we do this is to audit your Direct Payments bank account every year. This means that we will check the money which was put in against the money that was spent from the account by matching up receipts and other paperwork.
Therefore you’ll need to keep the bank statements for your new Direct Payments bank account to show how you spend your Direct Payments money. You’ll be given a file to put these in and the Direct Payments Support Team will tell you exactly what records to keep in it.
The British Bankers’ Association
The British Bankers' Association has more information about opening a bank account and what you can use to prove your identity and address.
It also publishes a guide called ‘Banking for people who lack capacity to make decisions’.
This booklet will help if a person is managing the finances of someone who may lack capacity to look after some or all aspects of their own financial affairs. It gives guidance on how a bank account can be opened and money managed on their behalf. It applies to England and Wales.
The British Bankers' Association
Pinners Hall
105-108 Old Broad Street
London EC2N 1EX
Tel 020 7216 8800
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this information.
Factsheet - Opening a bank account for your Direct Payments.pdf (2 pages, 77kb)
Publication date: August 2008
Contact: Marketing Team, Adult and Community Services.
Tel: 0191 370 8825 - please call us if you would like copies of this factsheet posting to you for personal or professional use. This information is also available on audio CD, cassette, Braille, large print and other languages.
Firstly, before the payments can be set up, you’ll need to open a separate bank account which your Direct Payments money will be paid into. This needs to be a current account with a cheque book.
To open a bank account, a person needs two separate documents. One document must show proof of identity eg a passport or driver’s licence. The other document must show proof of address eg a recent household bill in the person’s name. The bank cannot use the same piece of identification to verify your name and address.
You can ask them what documents are acceptable. Common ones are:
- Gas, electricity, water or phone bill
- Council tax bill
- Driving licence
- Current passport
- Known employer's ID card
- Pension or other social security book
- Medical card
- Inland Revenue documentation
- Insurance certificate
- Mail order statement
However, we realise that not everybody has these pieces of identification. If you do not have the sort of documents the bank accepts, talk to the staff and explain what sort of documents you can produce. Banks have special procedures to deal with such cases, which may involve consulting a more senior person or specialist part of the bank.
Some banks will accept a letter from your social worker, confirming your name, address and that the account is going to be used to have your Direct Payments money paid into it. Speak to your social worker or a member of the Direct Payments Support Team if you need this.
We need to make sure that you’re spending your Direct Payments money in the way it was agreed you would when it was set up. The way we do this is to audit your Direct Payments bank account every year. This means that we will check the money which was put in against the money that was spent from the account by matching up receipts and other paperwork.
Therefore you’ll need to keep the bank statements for your new Direct Payments bank account to show how you spend your Direct Payments money. You’ll be given a file to put these in and the Direct Payments Support Team will tell you exactly what records to keep in it.
Links to external organisations and information you might find useful
The British Bankers’ Association
The British Bankers' Association has more information about opening a bank account and what you can use to prove your identity and address.
It also publishes a guide called ‘Banking for people who lack capacity to make decisions’.
This booklet will help if a person is managing the finances of someone who may lack capacity to look after some or all aspects of their own financial affairs. It gives guidance on how a bank account can be opened and money managed on their behalf. It applies to England and Wales.
The British Bankers' Association
Pinners Hall
105-108 Old Broad Street
London EC2N 1EX
Tel 020 7216 8800
Read or download this information in a factsheet
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this information.
Factsheet - Opening a bank account for your Direct Payments.pdf (2 pages, 77kb)Publication date: August 2008
Contact: Marketing Team, Adult and Community Services.
Tel: 0191 370 8825 - please call us if you would like copies of this factsheet posting to you for personal or professional use. This information is also available on audio CD, cassette, Braille, large print and other languages.
