Accessibility support in bank branches: what to request
UK banks should make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers. Branch support can include step-free access, hearing loops, accessible formats, communication help and alternative ways to receive a service.
If you need an adjustment, contact the branch or bank before your visit where possible and explain the barrier you face and the help that would make the service accessible. The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers, including banks, to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.
Ask for the adjustment that solves the actual barrier
The Equality Act covers banks and building societies as service providers. The updated 2026 Code of Practice explains that the duty is anticipatory: providers should consider barriers disabled people may face rather than waiting for every customer to encounter them first.
Reasonable adjustments can involve policies, physical access or auxiliary aids. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances, but the purpose is to avoid substantial disadvantage compared with non-disabled customers.
Depending on the branch and your needs, support can include step-free access, seating, hearing loops, quieter appointments, large-print or Braille material, extra time, accessible communication, help completing forms or an alternative location where the building itself is not accessible.
You do not need to know the bank's internal name for an adjustment. Describe the practical barrier: for example, 'I cannot hear speech clearly at the open counter and need a hearing loop or private room'.
Before contacting the provider, build one factual note for accessibility support in bank branches: what to request. Record the task you need to complete, the barrier you face, the adjustment that would help, whether an appointment is needed and any communication preference you want recorded. Save screenshots, letters, receipts and reference numbers while they are still easy to retrieve, and add the time you first noticed the issue. This separates evidence from assumptions. If a deadline matters, put it on the same note so the person reviewing the case can see what must happen next and by when.
Plan appointments, communication and physical access
Some adjustments can be provided immediately; others need advance arrangement. A BSL interpreter, specialist document format or accessible meeting room may require booking.
Ask the bank to note an ongoing communication need on your customer record where appropriate. That can reduce the need to explain the same barrier every time, although you should ask how the note will be used and kept private.
A listed or older branch may have physical constraints, but that does not end the bank's responsibility. The Equality Act framework can require a reasonable alternative method of providing the service where a physical feature creates substantial disadvantage.
Ask about another accessible branch, a private remote appointment, home visit where offered, or another practical route that gives you equivalent access to the service you need.
Do not let urgency create a second problem. Do not assume every branch has the same physical layout or equipment, so call ahead when the adjustment depends on a room, hearing support, step free access or staff availability. First establish whether the original action is pending, failed, reversed, cancelled or waiting for review. Those states can require different responses. If you need a temporary workaround, keep it separate from the unresolved action and record exactly what you changed so it can be reversed later if necessary.
Prepare for a visit with a practical accessibility example
Ask the bank to explain why the requested adjustment is not considered reasonable and what alternative it can offer. Keep a record of the request, date, branch and response.
If the issue is not resolved, use the bank's formal complaints process. A complaint is stronger when it explains the barrier, the adjustment requested and the disadvantage caused by the refusal rather than simply stating that the branch was unhelpful.
A customer with hearing loss can use the branch physically but cannot follow conversations at a noisy open counter. A reasonable adjustment might be a hearing loop, written communication or a private quieter room. The solution is about removing the communication barrier, not giving the customer a different financial product.
A small calculation can prevent an expensive guess. If you need a quiet appointment and large print documents for a complex account change, ask for both when booking rather than trying to arrange them after you arrive. Compare like with like and use the same time period for each option. If the provider gives you a quote or illustration, copy the important numbers into your own note so you can test them. That makes it easier to challenge a figure that does not reconcile and easier to explain the problem later.
When you review accessibility support in bank branches: what to request, separate the provider rule from your own decision. The provider can explain what to do if support is refused and worked example, but you still need to decide whether the timing, cost and risk fit your situation. Write the provider answer first and your chosen action underneath it. That makes later complaints or follow up much easier to reconstruct.
Accessibility checklist and what to do if help is refused
- Describe the barrier and the adjustment that would help.
- Call ahead where the adjustment may need booking.
- Ask about an accessible alternative if the branch itself cannot provide the service.
- Keep a record if a reasonable adjustment is refused.
Do banks have to make every adjustment requested?
They have to take reasonable steps to avoid substantial disadvantage. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances and effectiveness of the adjustment.
Can a bank charge me for a disability adjustment?
The Equality Act framework does not allow service providers to pass the cost of a required reasonable adjustment to the disabled person.
Can I ask for information in another format?
Yes. Accessible formats and communication aids can be reasonable adjustments where they are needed to use the service.
Avoid open ended chasing. If the requested support is refused or does not work in practice, ask the bank to record the accessibility need and explain what alternative adjustment it can provide. Ask who owns the case, what is still outstanding and when the next meaningful update should occur. Keep any complaint reference with your timeline. A final message saying resolved is not enough on its own, so check the money, account setting, payment instruction or access status before you treat the matter as closed.
Sources and verification
MyBankAnswers UK editorial team
The most effective request is concrete: explain what prevents you using the ordinary service and what change would remove that barrier. I would contact the branch in advance for anything requiring staff or equipment, and I would ask for an alternative method if the physical branch cannot be made workable. Accessibility is part of providing the banking service, not an optional courtesy.
MyBankAnswers uses official provider and UK regulatory sources wherever practical. Information is general and does not constitute financial advice.