The number of people without a bank account has risen despite a Government drive to tackle the problem of financial exclusion, according to figures released by the Treasury.
In 2004, the Government agreed a goal with the major UK retail banks to halve the number of adults without access to an account from 2.8 million to 1.4 million.
After significant progress brought the number of "unbanked" below 2 million in 2005/06
, it has begun to rise again to 2.09 million adults in 2006/07, according to the latest figures.
This represents 4.5% of the adult population of the UK, and a rise of 120,000 compared with the previous year. Some 1.37 million households - 5.3% of the total - had no bank accounts in 2006/07.
However, the Treasury said the change was within the margin of error for the survey, and it would be "unwise to draw firm conclusions" from the rise at this stage.
Adam Clark, banking project co-ordinator at the financial inclusion charity Toynbee Hall, said: "Not having access to a bank account often means paying more for gas, electricity and other bills because you have to use expensive key meters and cannot set up direct debits which qualify for discounts.
"Getting a job can be difficult too, because many employers insist on paying wages directly into a bank account."
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