What the Utilities Sector Could Learn from the Financial Sector
Ariane Marasigan | March 4, 2025 | 5 mins
Customers in the financial sector face challenges around making informed decisions about financial products and services. This is especially true for customers facing vulnerability, or people experiencing barriers related to health or disability, life events, resilience, and capability. We talked about these areas in a previous article.
A lot of progress has been made in supporting customers in the financial sector, and these could be used as lessons for other essential services, such as gas, energy, and water. In the following sections, we will detail what the utility sector can learn from the financial sector.
What has been done for vulnerable customers in the financial sector?
In 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released guidelines for supporting vulnerable customers in the financial sector. This was made to ensure that vulnerable customers can achieve financial outcomes as good as those experienced by other customers.
Since the guidelines were released, the FCA has outlined how several financial firms have undertaken actions to support vulnerable customers, such as:
Using customer data to detect vulnerability to financial risk: Customer spending data can be used to identify vulnerable customers who are at risk of problematic gambling and provide relevant support such as removing them from credit marketing.
Using models and frameworks to encourage disclosure: Having specialist teams use the TEXAS model (Thank, Explain, eXplicit Consent, Ask, and Signpost) to identify potential vulnerability.
‘Tell Us Once’ Portals: Financial institutions such as Experian have adopted a support hub where customers can share their needs for multiple essential services.
However, some key challenges remain for the financial sector:
Limited financial understanding: Vulnerable customers struggle with financial decisions when information is too long, complex, or full of jargon. This makes it harder for them to understand financial products and process details.
Low trust for financial institutions: Vulnerable customers feel that financial institutions don’t have their best interests at heart. They worry their personal information will benefit the bank more than it will benefit themselves.
‘Disclosure gap’ prevents meaningful support: Customers refrain from providing information about their vulnerability to financial institutions, for a number of reasons including the perception of it being unnecessary and data privacy concerns.
Where are we now in the utilities sector?
Just like the financial sector, people need essential services such as energy and water to function in daily life. Losing access to utilities can have severe consequences for vulnerable populations, including health risks and further financial distress.
However, the utility sector addresses different human needs. Whereas financial institutions protect people’s wealth and support them in achieving financial well-being, utility services are expected to meet security needs through reliable access to gas, electricity, and water. Customer satisfaction surveys in the energy sector have shown that having a lack of issues is the top driver for satisfaction for the sector.
In the utilities sector, it has been announced that Ofgem are looking to improve customer outcomes by adopting a model similar to the Consumer Duty regulations. Unique to the utilities sector is the Priority Services Register, which allows vulnerable customers to register with their energy or water provider to receive additional support, such as priority reconnection during outages or assistance with meter readings.
However, the utilities sector also faces similar challenges:
Low understanding of energy behaviours: Many customers still struggle to understand energy efficiency and the benefits of switching tariffs.
Low trust in utility providers: Customers report having a transactional and reactive relationship with their water and energy companies, as a result of their interactions being limited to paying bills or resolving issue.
Low awareness of the Priority Services Register: Most people are not aware of the PSR and those who are are expected to go through a complex process of applying and give consent to data sharing for multiple providers.
How can we solve challenges in energy and water websites?
Making essential service information clearer and more user-friendly can significantly improve outcomes for vulnerable customers who have multiple challenges and limited cognitive bandwidth for decision-making. There are different ways we can do this through improving the experience of vulnerable channels in digital channels.
The following example from the Ebico homepage uses terms such as ‘low usage’ and ‘low standing charge’, which may be vague, especially for an abstract concept like electricity use. Research has found that customers find it difficult to understand energy usage. Using simpler language or points of comparison (e.g. Best for single-person households’) may help make it more understandable to vulnerable customers.
The following example from Cholderton and District Water Company has a header that is difficult to navigate. It requires customers to click on a ‘Customer Area’ button that is not immediately noticeable before they can access specific information about paying bills or learning about water readings. The website design for essential services should be clearly labelled, and include larger and more intuitive call-to-action buttons for customers that need support.
Key Takeaways
Vulnerable customers in the finance and utility sectors face similar challenges, such as low trust in providers and a lack of relevant support.
Losing access to utilities can severely impact vulnerable individuals. The Priority Services Register can support customers with this but awareness remains low.
Utility websites can support vulnerable customers by reducing the complexity of information in their websites. These could be addressed using simple language and designing more intuitive call-to-action buttons.
Are you looking to apply more behavioural insights to support vulnerable customers in your sector? Contact us today to explore different ways you can use behavioural science to address unique customer challenges.