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Your bank trusts us to help you bank online in a view-only way. This can be used by Account Holders and their Trusted People.

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If you’ve been invited to try us by Halifax, then this guide is for you.

The Family Connect service gives users a ‘view only’ look at the bank transactions of someone who needs help. They don’t share their bank security details, they won’t be accessing their account, can’t make or stop payments, and don’t need power of attorney. A Trusted Person can safely view how the person they’re supporting is using their bank account, check bills are being paid, and get notifications about any transactions they might want to discuss with them. The Account Holder can withdraw consent to share information at any time, in which case the service can be cancelled.

How does it work?

As we are regulated by the FCA, we are able, with consent, to establish a link between the Account Holder, the Trusted Person, and their bank. Once this link is made, the Trusted Person can view the Account Holder’s bank transactions. The clever part is that the Trusted Person never needs to login into the Account Holder’s actual bank account – they view the last three months of transactions using Family Connect instead.

The Account Holder and Trusted Person must give permission to create the link, and keep it in place. Either can break the link when they wish without asking for permission and bank transactions will no longer be visible.

Family Connect is suitable for:

Account Holders

Who want help with their banking from a Trusted Person or who want to view their accounts online in a simple to view way.

Additional Needs

Fraud Victims

Teenagers

Older Adults

More about Account Holders

The Account Holder is the person who wants help with their banking from a Trusted Person and/or would like to view their accounts online in a simple to view way.

      • Family Connect gives you view only access to see your accounts online.
      • You can safely see your bank accounts, statements and transactions but won’t be able to make payments or complete high-risk tasks.
      • You can also choose if you want to give the same access to a Trusted Person to help you with your banking. It’s completely secure to do this. You both have your own sign-in details.
      • You can ask us to cancel your Trusted Persons ability to view your accounts at any time.

How to link a bank account

Select the ‘Link Account’ button and follow the instructions.

By linking your accounts to Family Connect you will be able to see your bank account transactions under ‘My Accounts’, and so will any Trusted Person that you have linked to.

how to add a bank account in Family Connect

How to invite a Trusted Person

There are two ways to link with a Trusted Person. The easiest way is using a QR code, you can generate this from either the home page or from the ‘Invite trusted person’ link on the main menu. Show the code to your Trusted Person so they can scan it using their phone camera. Your Trusted Person will then be asked to log in (if they don’t already have an account then they will need to register first). They can then accept your invitation.

The second way to link is by sending an email invite, to do this you will need to know the exact email address and mobile number of your Trusted Person, and they will need to know yours.

how to invite a trusted person to Family Connect

Trusted People

Who support Account Holders with their banking. You could also choose to view your own accounts as well as acting as a Trusted Person for someone else.

Parents

Carers

Friends and Family

Support Workers

More about Trusted People

The Trusted Person supports Account Holders with their banking.

      • Family Connect gives you a view only look at the last 3 months of banking transactions of someone who needs your help.
      • You can safely see how the person you are supporting is using their bank account, check bills are being paid, and get notifications about any transactions you might want to discuss with them.
      • You can choose to receive regular e-mail alerts of new transactions.
      • They don’t need to share their online banking security details with you, you will have your own sign-in. It’s completely secure.
      • You could also choose to view your own accounts as well as acting as a Trusted Person for someone else. A one stop shop to view your accounts and theirs.

How do I view an Account Holder’s bank transactions?

The Account Holder must invite you to view their bank transactions, there are two ways they can do this. The simplest is to use a QR code which the Account Holder can generate, once you scan this using your mobile phone, you will be able to link your own Family Connect account.

The other way is for the Account Holder to send you an email request, this is the best option if you are not physically with each other. It’s important that you both know the exact email address and phone number of each other before you start.

Once you have accepted an invitation, you will be able to view the bank account transactions that the Account Holder has agreed to.

how to link to an account holder in Family Connect

It takes just minutes to set up

To register you will need an email address and a UK mobile phone number.

Register

Both the Account Holder and Trusted Person will need to register.

1

Invite

Once registered, the Account Holder can log in to Family Connect, link to their bank account(s) and send an invitation to their Trusted Person by using a QR code or sending an email.

2

View

Once the Trusted Person has accepted the invite, they then have view only access to the Account Holder’s bank transactions.

3

Further information

Free 12 month trial

If you are an Account Holder, and you are a customer of Lloyds Bank, Halifax or the Bank of Scotland, it is free for 12 months. We’ll be in touch before your trial ends to explain how you can continue to use the service if you want to.

Family Connect is always free if you are a Trusted Person.

How to get help with Family Connect

The Family Connect website has lots of guides, tips and information about how to use the service and staying safe online.

If you have any questions you can’t find answers to, then please email support@hopemacy.com

For any questions relating to your banking app then please click here to contact Halifax directly.

Customer survey

If you have any feedback on our service, we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to fill out our survey. It is completely anonymous, and your comments will help us improve.

Thank you!