DWP secretly working on automating welfare claimant bank account checks
20/05/2025 | The Canary
A report by the Canary outlines plans by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to integrate open banking technology into the Universal Credit system. While billed as a move to modernise and streamline benefits administration, critics fear it will grant DWP extensive powers to scrutinise claimants' private financial data, potentially exacerbating an already intrusive and punitive welfare system.
The DWP's new strategy aims to replace manual evidence checks, such as paper bank statements, with a digital model where Universal Credit's approximately 7.5 million claimants consent to share banking data via open banking application programming interfaces (APIs).
According to the article, open banking technology, originally designed to empower consumers, raises significant data protection and privacy concerns when repurposed by a government department with control over social security eligibility and payments.
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