Frome’s new Money Matters Café prepares to launch

A MONEY Matters Café is launching in Frome next month to give residents help and signposting for financial issues, following the closures of Barclays Bank, HSBC and NatWest this year.

The café is being launched by Prosper Frome, the group working to find innovative solutions to the banking vacuum in the town. It will be held next week, on Thursday 7th September in the town hall, at 2pm to 4pm.

One of the leaders of Prosper Frome, Jean Boulton said, “This initiative will provide a welcoming space where community members can seek help and signposting on various financial matters. Whether individuals are grappling with banking-related queries, budgeting challenges, utility tariffs, or general concerns, Money Matters Cafe will offer assistance.

“Trained volunteers will be available to interpret correspondence, discuss worries and direct visitors to relevant services. The Money Matters Café will operate in conjunction with existing services, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and the digital literacy service at the Cheese and Grain.”

Prosper Frome will kick off the “Money Matters” Café with an inaugural talk, focusing on scam prevention, which will take place at 3.30 pm on September 7th. They say, “We will be offering a series of talks every other week at this time, look out for a list of topics.

“The “Money Matters” Café represents a pilot initiative, and its success could pave the way for doing more. We are considering the possibility of introducing roving services in other locations. We are also collaborating with Frome Medical Practice to train some Community Connectors in things financial, to ensure that individuals seeking support with banking and financial concerns can be signposted to relevant services. Look out for our Angels’ Den in the autumn and more support to small businesses and enterprises.”

Prosper Frome have also been exploring the possibility of starting up Frome’s own banking hub, a fairly new concept where both traditional banking services and the local Post Office unite under one roof. However, the group describes navigating the path to this goal has having proved challenging. Prosper Frome has been told that Frome is not eligible, as eligibility is driven by the number of ATMs in the town.

In the face of banking challenges, Prosper Frome is dedicated to forging a path toward financial inclusion, education, and empowerment. If you would like to volunteer or support this work, please contact them at prosperfrome@gmail.com  or through their website  www.prosperfrome.org.