Identifying what the bank’s role should be with customers at risk of, or experiencing, gambling-related harm

“Money became my god because it allowed me to gamble” – explained one former gambling addict as we began two days of immersive innovation with Santander.

The challenge: to identify what the bank’s role should be with customers at risk of, or experiencing, gambling-related harm. Taking part were staff representing the bank’s key business areas.

The programme we devised brought them together with two leading charities (Betknowmore and GamCare), people with lived experience of gambling addiction, representatives from a gambling operator and an expert in mental health.

The first day was all about immersion. The group learned first-hand about gambling triggers, how the illness warps an addict’s view of money and how banks can unwittingly perpetuate the problem.

They then took all this insight into the second day, where they generated ideas for what the bank could do both internally (e.g. awareness raising and training for staff, use of transaction data) and externally (e.g. communications with customers).

Having those with lived experience on hand to critique the emerging ideas was immensely powerful as they honed these down into a strategy and action plan for identifying and supporting customers with gambling-related vulnerabilities.

“This allowed us to tap into the knowledge of people who have been personally and financially affected, which has helped us to better understand the potential solutions for protecting and supporting our customers.”
Elisa Moscolin, Head of Sustainability & CSR, Santander UK

“The insights gained through working with Three Hands and the facilitated sessions with both the industry and people with lived experience has helped us to shape our strategy and be more effective in the support we can develop for people impacted by gambling related financial harm.”
Dorothy Liviabella, Head of Vulnerable Customer Strategy, Santander UK

“I came to these insight sessions with high expectations and things often go one way from here, however, the sessions actually exceeded expectations! The insight from those with lived experience was so powerful and will live long in the memory. It is now down to us to make important changes that will help similar people going forward.”
Mark Longman, Vulnerable Customer Transformation Lead, Collections & Recoveries, Santander UK

“Three Hands are like a great referee – they are not the focus, but after the match you realise how much they contributed to a great event!”
Peter Betts, Risk Manager, Santander UK