Any direct payment accounts, including Post Office card accounts (POCAs) belonging to the Adult, Individuals in the Household or the Family (Benefit Unit)

Dataset: Family Resources Survey (Adult, Individual, Family (Benefit Unit), Household)

Field: Any direct payment accounts, including Post Office card accounts (POCAs) belonging to the Adult, Individuals in the Household or the Family (Benefit Unit)

Description

Whether the adult or individuals in a household or a family (benefit unit) have any direct payment accounts, including Post Office card accounts (POCAs), as reported by FRS respondents, where:

All individuals who are aged 16 and over are classified as an adult, unless the individual is defined as a dependent child. All adults in the household are interviewed as part of the FRS.
A household consists of one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address, who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area. A household will consist of one or more benefit units.
A family (benefit unit) may consist of: a single adult, or a married or cohabiting couple, plus any dependent children. Same-sex partners (civil partners and cohabitees) have been included in the same benefit unit since January 2006.
A direct payment account is one that can accept electronic payment of benefits via BACS (the Banker's Automated Clearing System). The types of accounts included in this grouping are:

Current account: a current account includes all accounts at both banks and building societies, which are used for day-to-day transactions; with a bank card. Overdraft facilities may be offered.
National Savings and Investments Savings Accounts: the National Savings & Investments (NS&I) Investment Account and Direct Saver.
Savings, investments e.t.c.
Basic Account: a basic bank account is similar to a current account. Payments can be received from other sources and it can pay bills by direct debit, but unlike a current account there are no overdraft facilities. Withdrawals can be made from cash machines and, in some cases, over the counter of the bank or building society itself.

The Post Office Card Account scheme ended in November 2022. Those account holders who could not open or manage a bank account will automatically have been moved to the new Payment Exception Service (PES). All customers were encouraged, if able, to open a bank account, as the PES was designed as a temporary measure. Payment Exception Service (PES) are excluded from this category.

Classification

Applicable to: all adults or all individuals in a household or a family (benefit unit).

None
One or more
Not applicable

Total number of categories: 3

Quality Statement

Further information can be found in the FRS Background Note and Methodology here.