I was fascinated to hear about Sibstar debit card in Dragon’s Den and the fact that the Alzheimer’s Society is backing it. I can understand the benefits of a system where the person with LPA is able to control the spending on a debit card for the person with dementia. I have personal experience of why this could be helpful. What I don’t understand is why the Alzheimer’s Society isn’t putting its energy into getting the banks to do this and/or to influence policy makers to insist this is a reasonable adjustment and access requirement for all banks to implement. Maybe this is the long game ? I’m not that comfortable with monetising something like this, that is a good idea but which it seems could easily be implemented by banks without major cost implications. Am I missing something ? I wonder what others think.
Sibstar debit card on Dragons Den
- Thread starter Bettusboo
- Start date
Hi @Bettusboo I didn't see the Dragon's Den episode with the Sibstar presentation on, and my mum is in a nursing home so doesn't need this product, but I'm aware that Sibstar was developed under the Alzheimer's Society Accelerator Programme which supports ideas/innovations which help those living with dementia. Mastercard are also a partner and their press release contains some background info which might help to answer some of your questions? They say that although there have been improvements in relation to accessibility within the banking sector they don't currently offer the necessary security/flexibility required by those with dementia and their families. The press release also includes a quote from the AS saying that they are working to make the financial sector more dementia-friendly:
https://www.mastercard.com/news/eur...ving-with-dementia-to-safely-manage-spending/
https://www.mastercard.com/news/eur...ving-with-dementia-to-safely-manage-spending/
Thank you. The article is helpful but I’d still be interested to know what else is being done to change practices in banking. I already had POA and an App set up with Nat West. My Dad had his own card and I could see on the App his he was spending money. The only additional thing offered by Sibstar was the ability to limit spending which would make a big difference. There’s no way this would have worked for my Dad though because he would not have been willing or able to use anything other than the bank card he was already familiar with. He also would have been very upset by something with Alzheimer’s Society written on it as he didn’t accept his diagnosis. I’m sure it will be helpful for some though but would like to see it ultimately lead to changes to banking practices more generally.
Start around 27 minutes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001wt7z/dragons-den-series-21-episode-9 .
Thanks for posting the link, @nitram
They said the PWD would probably use it for 2 or maybe 3 years. Like the guy said, they will have to get them really early.
From initial diagnosis to then having trouble going out spending for themselves - even 2 years seems very optimistic. 2 months more like, but I know dementia progresses at different rates.
As Peter Jones says, what's to stop the banks doing this themselves if it's such a good idea?
And what happens when the PWD overspends? That's surely the end of the Sibstar card for them.
They said the PWD would probably use it for 2 or maybe 3 years. Like the guy said, they will have to get them really early.
From initial diagnosis to then having trouble going out spending for themselves - even 2 years seems very optimistic. 2 months more like, but I know dementia progresses at different rates.
As Peter Jones says, what's to stop the banks doing this themselves if it's such a good idea?
And what happens when the PWD overspends? That's surely the end of the Sibstar card for them.
I think that’s part of the point. You can put a spending limit on the card. It’s a bit like a Go Henry card that you can get for children. But I agree that banks should be doing it themselves and I may be being overly idealistic but think it should be seen as a reasonable adjustment by the banks for PWD and others without capacity to fully manage their finances and who have someone with LPA.
Yes of course - spending limit already on it.
Anyone with LPA - the PWD already has trouble with capacity - I just can't see many using it for 2 years, but I have been wrong before.
This would not have benefited my dad at all. He had debit cards and just kept losing them. I guess the card like any other cash card could be loaded with a set amount of cash for a cater to use. I really couldn’t see the point of it when I watched Dragons Den. I had a debit card for dad’s bank so I could control the spending and after a while I just stopped asking the bank to send out another debit card. I think the bank sent 5 or 6.
If you check out my post on the original thread about Sibstar, there is a hugely simple way to manage it if the banks choose to do it. I live in Australia and have been using the same bank for decades (long before it was a bank). We have a joint account and a DEBIT card each with a transaction limit that can be overridden by using a PIN. The account is compartmentalised so I have a sub account for everyday things and I keep a limit on how much I leave in there. This is the only money that can be accessed by card.
I keep extra funds in another sub account which has a higher interest rate. This account can only be accessed online but transferring funds is easy. I can have other sub accounts to save for things like Christmas, holidays etc.
It has worked well for decades and my husband feels he has some control over his finances without risk of overspending.
In MHO once there is evidence of DWP either overspending, or bulk buying, buying/ordering unwanted or unnecessary items, etc then that in itself is evidence that the PWD cannot manage their financial affairs and shouldn't have a credit/debit card at all.
Even wanting the warm/secure feeling of having cash in pocket or purse is OK, but they don't usually actually need it, save in a few cases of early on and only with a still reasonably high functioning PWD.
V soon, my OH forgot all about money matters, then couldn't co-ordinate writing and so couldn't sign cheques (or indeed anything else) - she would just say "I have someone who does that for me" (sounds almost Royal, like not carrying money
)
Even wanting the warm/secure feeling of having cash in pocket or purse is OK, but they don't usually actually need it, save in a few cases of early on and only with a still reasonably high functioning PWD.
V soon, my OH forgot all about money matters, then couldn't co-ordinate writing and so couldn't sign cheques (or indeed anything else) - she would just say "I have someone who does that for me" (sounds almost Royal, like not carrying money
)
My husband is not a shopper but he does need a card to pay for his bridge club subscriptions, haircuts and stuff but not much else. He has absolutely no idea of managing finances but we have been functioning this way long before he was diagnosed.In MHO once there is evidence of DWP either overspending, or bulk buying, buying/ordering unwanted or unnecessary items, etc then that in itself is evidence that the PWD cannot manage their financial affairs and shouldn't have a credit/debit card at all.
Even wanting the warm/secure feeling of having cash in pocket or purse is OK, but they don't usually actually need it, save in a few cases of early on and only with a still reasonably high functioning PWD.
V soon, my OH forgot all about money matters, then couldn't co-ordinate writing and so couldn't sign cheques (or indeed anything else) - she would just say "I have someone who does that for me" (sounds almost Royal, like not carrying money
Being a debit card, he could only use the money that is in the everyday account and I never keep much in there anyway. I have never had a credit card and think most of us would be better off without them.
That makes total sense. Yes. We could have done that with the Nat West account that we both had cards for.
Thank you. That makes complete sense. I’m seeing lesss need for a Sibstar when this can be done. I didn’t get it when I heard about it but even less so now.
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Sticky
