Is it possible to live without a bank account?

Of no account

Nigel Farage claimed that his bank has told him it will be closing his accounts, without giving him a reason, although he suspects it is because of his political views. Is it possible to live without a bank account?

– According to the Financial Conduct Authority, there are 1.3 million adults in Britain who are ‘unbanked’.

– A third of them do not want to have a bank account, sometimes because they have got into trouble with debt in the past.

– There are 7.45 million ‘basic’ bank accounts designed to offer essential functionality for handling payments, without offering credit and other services.

Around the houses

How is the volume of housing sales holding up across the UK?

May 2016 83,000

May 2017 96,490

May 2018 95,340

May 2019 97,050

May 2020 46,160

May 2021 102,980

May 2022 99,760

May 2023 74,360

Source: HMRC

Independent thinking

Orkney council debated a motion to look at ‘alternative forms of government’, which could include becoming a crown dependency, a self-governing territory – or joining Norway (assuming Norway would want it). How would the Orkneys measure up as an independent country?

– Its population of 22,540 would make it the 192nd most populous country or territory in the world, smaller than Gibraltar but larger than the Cook Islands.

– At 975km² it would be the 171st largest country or territory, just below the Faroes but above the Turks and Caicos Islands.

– Its GDP of £634 million ($800 million) would make it the 200th wealthiest economy, on IMF figures.

– For GDP per capita, however, it would come in at 37th, on $36,200 – putting it above an independent rest-of-Scotland.