HSBC UK and First Direct have increased the cooling off period of their gambling block feature to 72 hours.
The decision has been made keeping in mind increased gambling transactions amid lockdown. Earlier, the cooling off period was 24 hours.
Cooling off period employs the self-restriction tool – which prevents customers from being able to make gambling payments on their accounts and is set to automatically decline any gambling transactions for three days.
As per Gambling Insider, Maxine Pritchard, head of Financial Inclusion and Vulnerability at HSBC UK said: “This is a challenging time for many of our customers, with some not working and perhaps facing financial difficulty. By increasing the restriction to 72 hours, this will help give our customers time to pause when they are tempted to return to gambling.”
Pritchard added: “We are always looking for new ways to support our customers and make it easier for them to manage their finances. Customer feedback on our gambling control showed us there was more we could do to help and we’ve worked closely with them and with GamCare to design the solution.”