Most of us take having a bank account for granted. It is the mechanism through which we are paid by our employer, and enables us to manage our finances. We put money into savings accounts (to earn interest) when we have spare money, and make use of our overdraft facility (in many cases) when we are short of money. We also use our debit card to buy goods in stores and online, and easy access to cash machines means we only ever need to carry a small amount of cash.

There is, however, a sizeable number of people who don't have a bank account. In the UK, for example, it is estimated that one in twelve households have no bank account. This is despite the fact that the banking industry introduced no-frills basic banking accounts, aimed specifically at customers who would previously have failed the current/checking account eligibility criteria.

So why is this figure so high? The answer is a combination of factors. Firstly, there are still some customers who apply for a bank account but are rejected. This will most likely be because they have a poor credit history with things like county court judgements showing on their record. However, the introduction of basic banking accounts, which don't allow the customer to become overdrawn, has reduced this category. The other reason is that there are some people who simply don't want a bank account. They may be suspicious of banks or just prefer to deal in cash.

There are, however, some very good reasons for having a bank account. These include:

- Employers usually require you to have a bank account for them to pay your wages into.
- Security of your money. Even if your bank is robbed, you are guaranteed to get your money back. However, if you hide your cash in your house and are burgled, you won't get your money back!
- Interest. A major benefit of having bank accounts, is that you can put spare money into a high interest savings account so that your money will create more money for you. Remember that the effect of inflation (i.e. rising prices) in the economy means that if you keep all your money in cash its value will erode. 1,000 now will buy you much less than it would have 10 years ago or 20 years ago, etc.
- Access to credit facilities. Although many people are rightly concerned about the risk of getting into debt, there are times when the availability of bank credit is very useful. There's not very many of us, for example, who could afford to buy a house without the help of a mortgage. An overdraft or

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