The hidden cost of charity banking

How much does banking really cost a charity? The obvious answer lies in fees and charges, but new research suggests the bigger cost may be measured in something harder to see on a balance sheet: time.

The Charity Finance Group (CFG) published its Charity Banking Challenges 2026 report in July, the third in a series following surveys in 2022 and 2024. Its headline finding is striking: the UK's 204,000 registered charities spend an estimated 12 million hours each year on banking administration. That is the equivalent of more than 6,000 full-time employees working year-round on nothing but banking tasks — time that could otherwise be spent on the causes these organisations exist to serve.

The findings are drawn from 2,416 responses gathered between February and April 2026, spanning charities of every size and sector. Notably, every single respondent reported experiencing at least one banking challenge.

Where the time goes

The single most commonly cited challenge — raised by 53% of respondents — remains changing signatories on account mandates. There is some good news here: that figure is down from 75% in 2024, suggesting that sustained pressure from CFG, charities and regulators is beginning to improve matters. But the problem is far from solved. Because trustees serve voluntarily, often alongside full-time jobs or caring responsibilities, drawn-out verification procedures place a disproportionate burden on individuals. The report also warns that slow mandate changes can leave outdated signatories on accounts, creating a real risk to an organisation's financial security — and that processes stretching into months can even influence whether trustees remain in role at all.

Meanwhile, new pressures are emerging. Some 37% of respondents cited fees for banking services such as depositing cash or cheques, up from 31% in 2024, and 35% reported being charged simply to hold a bank account, up from 24%. For organisations already operating in a difficult funding environment, rising banking costs are an unwelcome drain on resources intended for charitable work.

Perhaps the sharpest deterioration is in access to local banking. In 2024, just 4% of respondents raised limited access to in-person services as a concern; this year, the figure is 31%. Nearly 1,000 bank branches have closed across the UK since the last survey, and while banking hubs and Post Office services have softened the impact, the loss of knowledgeable, face-to-face banking support is keenly felt — particularly in rural areas, where almost 55% of respondents said in-person services were either not very available or not available at all.

More than an administrative problem

It is tempting to file all of this under "back-office frustration", but the report makes clear the consequences run deeper. Banking challenges place additional pressure on volunteers whose time and capacity are already stretched, and in some cases affect their willingness to continue. Among major charities with incomes above £10 million, one in ten said banking challenges had directly resulted in the loss of trustees or volunteers.

As Clare Mills, CFG's co-chief executive and co-author of the report, put it: "Too many charity staff and volunteers are losing time on admin that could and should be going to the people and causes charities exist to serve."

For trustees and finance leaders, the research poses an important question: how much of your organisation's capacity is being absorbed by banking administration — and could a different approach release some of it?

Simplifying treasury management

Much of the administrative burden identified in the report multiplies with every additional banking relationship a charity holds. Each new account typically means another application, another set of signatories to maintain, another statement to reconcile and another login to manage. Yet holding funds with a single institution brings its own concerns around concentration risk and competitiveness of returns.

This is where a streamlined approach to cash management can help. Consolidating the administration — without consolidating the risk — allows charities to reduce the time spent on banking tasks, improve visibility of cash holdings and strengthen reporting to trustees, auditors and stakeholders.

Insignis is a cash savings platform that provides charities and not-for-profit organisations with access to over 35 UK banks and building societies through a single application and online portal. Rather than repeating know-your-customer checks and signatory processes with every institution, organisations complete one application and can then spread deposits across multiple banks, access competitive savings products and view all holdings in one place. For finance teams and volunteer trustees alike, that means less time on administration and more time supporting the organisation's mission — with the governance and oversight that trustees rightly expect.

Twelve million hours is a sobering figure. But it is also, in part, a recoverable one.

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