Chip Savings to start sharing data with government

EthicsGradient

masonic said:

Isn't this just an adjustment of the T&Cs to comply with legislation recently passed as part of a clampdown on benefit fraud?

Edit: not yet passed, currently the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, expected to come into effect in April 2026

As you say, not yet passed; and in what way is the Home Office involved?

And if Chip was doing this to comply with legal requirements for demands for information for legal investigations of people, they ought to say it's under those conditions they'll be handing it over; not just "we may share your data with government departments, including (but not limited to) ...". Don't obey in advance.

clairec666

You may find something similar written deep in the T&Cs of other banks you use, your attention has only been drawn to Chip because they've made a recent update.

Can't offer an informed opinion about the home office's need to access my financial info, but I would certainly expect it to be shared with HMRC, for tax reporting purposes. I don't think there's any crazy spying conspiracy going on here.

masonic

Sam_666 said:

What is scarry, is that gov agencies, like hmrc, will have right to take money from your accounts if they "think" you own them. No need for court order. This will end in tears for some unlucky souls.

HMRC can already take whatever money they think you owe via your tax code. This only extends the same pain to non-earners. In this case, there are some safeguards:

...and it does appear that the individual could remove money from this account in order to prevent the deduction, whereupon presumably the usual county court process would be used.

(s25)

masonic

EthicsGradient said:

And if Chip was doing this to comply with legal requirements for demands for information for legal investigations of people, they ought to say it's under those conditions they'll be handing it over; not just "we may share your data with government departments, including (but not limited to) ...". Don't obey in advance. 

They don't just say "we may share..."

That would not cover them to share anything they were not legally obliged to share.

On the Home Office question, some people are disqualified from operating a bank account due to their immigration status (Immigration Act 2014 s40(1)), so it may be related to that.

Ch1ll1Phlakes

EthicsGradient said:

masonic said:

Isn't this just an adjustment of the T&Cs to comply with legislation recently passed as part of a clampdown on benefit fraud?

Edit: not yet passed, currently the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, expected to come into effect in April 2026

As you say, not yet passed; and in what way is the Home Office involved?

And if Chip was doing this to comply with legal requirements for demands for information for legal investigations of people, they ought to say it's under those conditions they'll be handing it over; not just "we may share your data with government departments, including (but not limited to) ...". Don't obey in advance.

Home Office would may be involved for investigations of crime eg. money laundering, immigration check and other financing events (not sure what language is allowed on the MSE but think transactions connected to events such as 9/11). The Bill above would involve the Home Office if the fraud and recovery of such funds crossed international borders.

The "we may share your data..." IS their language for saying under certain conditions they will share the data to the relevant legal authorities. I've attached the relevant section from Clearbank's Privacy policy which should make this more clear, note the "In order to comply with our legal obligations" at the very start.

8.10.1 In order to comply with our legal obligations, we may be required to share your data with various governmental bodies, agencies, regulators and/or other authorities, on a regular or ad hoc basis. These include, but not limited to, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the UK Prudential Regulation Authority, the UK Financial Services Deposit Compensation Scheme, other deposit guarantee schemes, and HM Home Office and HM Revenue and Customs.  

EDIT: @masonic got there before me