CFIT Launches New Financial Inclusion Coalition with Project Nemo to Develop Safer Supported Payments

Amsterdam, 4 June 2026 – The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) today announced the launch of its fifth national Coalition – a first-of-its-kind initiative focused on developing safer and more inclusive payment solutions for people who wish to live independently but need support managing their money.

Announced on stage at Money20/20 Europe, the new Coalition builds on the work of Project Nemo – the award-winning movement driving disability inclusion across financial services. The Coalition will initially focus on the development of a Supported Payments framework that will enable vulnerable customers to make everyday payments themselves, with a trusted third party providing visibility, guidance and safeguards.

Funded by HM Treasury, this initial phase of the Coalition reflects growing momentum behind the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy and wider efforts to ensure innovation in financial services delivers better outcomes for all consumers. While the immediate focus is on people with a learning disability, the relevance is far broader. With 11 million (around 19.3%) of UK adults already helping someone with digital banking, the Supported Payments model has the potential to reshape how financial support is provided across the UK – enabling more people to manage their money safely, confidently and independently.

The initiative represents the next priority in CFIT’s work translating innovation policy into practical, cross-sector delivery and builds on previous Coalitions on Open Finance, Digital Company ID, SME Access to Finance and Open Property.

Catalyst for Change to National Coalition

Two years ago, Project Nemo launched at Money20/20 with the ambition of accelerating disability inclusion across financial services. Since then, it has evolved from a grassroots initiative into one of the industry’s most influential collaborative movements – engaging major banks, fintechs and policymakers across the UK and winning the Money20/20 Diamond Grand Prix in 2025.

Over that period, Project Nemo worked closely with the learning disability community, charities, regulators and financial institutions to identify a significant gap in the market and build the supporting evidence base. People who need support managing money are too often left choosing between formal legal arrangements, such as Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputyship, and risky informal workarounds such as sharing PINs, passwords or banking credentials.

These workarounds create material fraud and financial abuse risk, limited visibility and control for firms, as well as increased liability. The Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, published by HM Treasury, recognised Project Nemo’s contribution in helping identify barriers faced by people who need support with everyday spending – with Treasury backing for this new Coalition reflecting confidence in the ability of CFIT to translate that work into practical delivery.

A Coalition Focused on Practical Delivery

The Financial Inclusion Coalition will bring together banks, fintechs, regulators, charities, consumer groups and lived experience representatives to develop practical solutions that are designed to be implemented inclusively and at scale across the financial system. Initially, the Coalition will focus on two core workstreams:

• Developing a trust and consent framework enabling individuals to appoint a Trusted Third Party to support them with payments without removing autonomy or requiring a full Lasting Power of Attorney
• Creating a proof of concept and pilot – potentially using Open Banking infrastructure – to test supported payment journeys and gather structured community feedback to inform future implementation and scaling

CFIT will hold a workshop on 18 June 2026, bringing together stakeholders to gather views and ideas to begin shaping the Coalition’s delivery roadmap.

The Coalition will formally commence activity this summer.

Building the Next Chapter of Inclusive Financial Innovation

Rachel Blake MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“Nobody should be locked out of the chance to build a better future, which is why CFIT’s work is vital in helping to support people manage their money. The Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy recognised the important contribution Project Nemo has made in highlighting how inclusive design can support greater financial independence, so that people can participate fully in the economy and manage their finances safely and confidently.”

Anna Wallace, CEO of CFIT, said:

“This Coalition is about tackling a systemic gap in the financial system: today, too many people who need support managing money are forced to rely on unsafe and unscalable workarounds. By bringing together industry, regulators, government and lived experience, we have an opportunity to build practical supported payment solutions that can be implemented safely and consistently across the market. Focusing innovation on underserved consumers will ultimately help create a more inclusive, resilient and trusted financial system for everyone.”

Joanne Dewar, Co-Founder of Project Nemo, said:

“Project Nemo began two years ago with a belief that disability inclusion and accessibility needed to move from the margins to the mainstream of financial services innovation. Since then, through our groundbreaking films, our research report with Nationwide and our co-designed app by CI&T showing what the learning disability community were looking for, we have seen the industry come together in ways we could not have imagined. By combining Project Nemo’s community-led work with CFIT’s coalition delivery model and HM Treasury support, we now have an opportunity to unlock the sticking points to providing better solutions that can make a meaningful difference to people’s everyday lives and ensure that the future of Financial Services works for everyone”.