Governance of UK problem gambling and treatment charity GamCare has praised NatWest (RBS Group) for expanding its ‘highstreet collaboration’, offering UK consumers direct access to gambling consultations.
During 2019, GamCare launched a collaborative pilot scheme with NatWest, launching ‘walk-in consultations’ within 13 NatWest branches located in the South East and Midlands.
Addressing corporate stakeholders last week, NatWest Group Chief Executive Alison Rose confirmed that the bank’s collaboration with GamCare would be expanded upon as a key 2020 social directive.
Leading a newly rebranded NatWest Group (formerly RBS Group), Rose praised the pilot scheme ‘delivering real benefits for the users of its service’.
“It’s a great example of how we can use our physical space to support customers and non-customers with an important social issue. It’s a partnership that our colleagues in branches are proud to support.” Rose detailed to NatWest stakeholders.
“We are working with GamCare to consider how we can best extend the pilot of using space in our branches for their appointments to more locations. These locations are being scoped with GamCare to make sure we provide the service in the places where it is needed the most.”
NatWest management will continue to work with GamCare, considering how to best expand the scheme across its 850 UK highstreet bank network.
Praising the scheme, GamCare governance states that it is actively seeking further UK financial partners, helping to deepen health and community networks combatting gambling-harm related impacts.
Mike Kenward, Development Director at GamCare, says: “Providing and increasing access to treatments for problem gambling is GamCare’s priority and partnering with NatWest is a brilliant step. To be able to offer our support on the high street in NatWest branches makes our services more readily available to the people that need it most, reducing some of the barriers to accessing support.”
Concluding its statement, GamCare cites that it is working with a range of financial partners, in order to deliver better cross-sector training, improve the identification of vulnerable consumers and further develop a toolkit supporting customers in financial difficulty.
