What is the Billions 4 Millions Initiative and How Does It Work?

Billions 4 Millions is a UK-wide, voluntary industry campaign, bringing together financial services organisations around a shared goal: reuniting the public with £1 billion in lost assets by the end of 2026.

It isn't a product or a service, but a coordinated effort designed to tackle a problem that affects millions of people and that no single firm can solve alone. 

We’ve put together this article to explain how the campaign works, who can participate, and what joining actually involves for financial institutions and ecosystem players across the UK. 

What is the Billions 4 Millions initiative? 

The Billions 4 Millions initiative aims to reunite the public with £1 billion in lost, forgotten, and unclaimed savings, investments, and life insurance policies by the end of 2026.  

Led by Gretel, the campaign brings together financial services organisations around a single, measurable goal. Rather than a product or service, Billions 4 Millions is a way for the industry to act together on a problem that no company can solve alone. 

The idea is straightforward. Millions of people across the UK have money sitting in accounts they have forgotten about or lost track of, including old savings accounts, workplace pensions from jobs long since left, and life insurance policies taken out decades ago.  

The money belongs to them, but they have perhaps forgotten it exists. Billions 4 Millions creates a framework for the industry to find these people and reconnect them with what is rightfully theirs. 

Why the UK financial services industry is uniting around lost assets 

For years, individual firms have run their own tracing programmes to reach customers who have gone quiet. Some of this work has been effective, but a lot of it has not. The problem is that when every organisation works in isolation, the overall impact stays limited. 

Consider a customer who has assets spread across three or four providers. Each firm might attempt to trace that person independently, using different methods, at different times, with different levels of effort. The customer might receive one letter and ignore it, never realising that other accounts exist elsewhere. Fragmentation, in other words, undermines the whole exercise. 

Beyond the operational challenges, there is also a growing expectation from regulators and the public that financial institutions will do more. The FCA's Consumer Duty, introduced in 2023, requires firms to deliver good outcomes for customers, including those they have lost contact with.  

The Dormant Assets Act 2022 has expanded the scope of assets that can be transferred to good causes if owners cannot be found, but only after firms have made genuine efforts to reconnect. Doing nothing, or doing the bare minimum, is no longer a defensible position. 

Billions 4 Millions offers a different approach. Instead of each firm working alone, the campaign creates a shared framework for action, visibility, and accountability. The industry moves together, and the collective effort becomes greater than the sum of its parts. 

The £1 billion reunification goal 

At the centre of the campaign is a specific target: £1 billion reunited with its rightful owners by the end of 2026.

This isn’t a vague aspiration or a marketing slogan; it’s a measurable objective that gives the initiative focus and allows progress to be tracked. 

Why £1 billion? The figure reflects the scale of the problem. Estimates suggest that billions of pounds sit unclaimed across the UK financial system, in dormant bank accounts, forgotten pensions, matured insurance policies, and old investment holdings. The £1 billion target is ambitious but achievable if enough organisations participate and commit to genuine action. 

Having a concrete goal also changes the dynamic. It creates accountability. Participating organisations are not simply signing up to a set of principles; they are contributing to a shared outcome that will be measured and reported. That kind of transparency tends to focus minds. 

The five principles of Billions 4 Millions 

Every organisation that joins the campaign agrees to uphold five guiding principles. These principles define what participation means in practice and ensure consistency across a diverse group of partners. 

Commitment 

Participation is voluntary. There is no contract, no fee, and no minimum term. Organisations that join agree to support the campaign's principles for as long as they remain involved. The expectation is genuine engagement, not a logo on a website. 

Contribution 

Each partner commits to driving real reconnection outcomes. What that looks like will vary - for example, a large bank with millions of dormant accounts will contribute differently than a fintech with a smaller customer base. However, the intent is consistent: to help reunite people with their money. 

Advocacy 

Partners agree to promote the campaign's objectives. This might mean internal communications to staff, presentations at industry events, or public statements in the press. The goal is to build awareness and encourage others to join. 

Visibility 

Participating organisations communicate their involvement publicly. This includes displaying the campaign mark on relevant materials and acknowledging participation where appropriate. Visibility builds momentum and signals to the wider market that the industry is taking the issue seriously. 

Measurement 

Partners support proportionate reporting to demonstrate collective progress toward the £1 billion goal. This isn't about creating new compliance burdens; it's about transparency, showing that the campaign is delivering results rather than simply generating goodwill. 

Who can participate in Billions 4 Millions? 

The campaign is open to a range of UK-based financial services firms and ecosystem players. Participation isn't limited to organisations that hold dormant assets directly. 

Banks and building societies 

Banks and building societies typically hold large volumes of dormant accounts. Customers move house, change their contact details, or simply forget about old savings. These institutions are central to the campaign's success. 

Insurers and asset managers 

Unclaimed life insurance policies, matured investments, and forgotten holdings are common in this sector. Policyholders pass away without telling their families about the policy. Investors lose track of holdings after decades of inactivity. The sums involved can be significant. 

Pension providers 

Pension providers face a particular challenge. People change jobs frequently over their careers, often leaving behind small pension pots with former employers' schemes. Over time, contact details become outdated and the connection is lost. Billions 4 Millions offers a way to address this at scale. 

Fintechs and financial marketplaces 

Digital-first organisations can amplify the campaign's reach. They may not hold dormant assets themselves, but they have platforms, customer bases, and communication channels that can drive awareness and engagement. 

Charities and industry bodies 

Even organisations that do not hold assets directly can contribute. Charities focused on financial inclusion, industry trade bodies, and professional associations can all support the campaign through advocacy and visibility. 

What does participation require? 

Joining Billions 4 Millions involves a set of practical commitments. These are designed to ensure meaningful engagement without creating excessive administrative burden. 

What you commit	What you gain
Senior sponsorship within your organisation	Alignment with a visible, industry-wide initiative
A named day-to-day contact for coordination	Access to campaign resources and shared learnings
Regular engagement with the campaign team	Association with a measurable social-impact goal
Public acknowledgement (logos, quotes, campaign mark)	Enhanced reputation for customer-centric action

The commitments are proportionate. A large bank will engage differently than a small fintech, but both can participate meaningfully. The campaign is designed to work for organisations of different sizes, structures, and capabilities. 

How Billions 4 Millions supports Consumer Duty compliance 

The FCA's Consumer Duty requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. This includes customers who have lost contact with the firm, whether through their own lack or attention or through failures in the firm's data management. 

Billions 4 Millions aligns directly with Consumer Duty obligations in several ways: 

• Proactive reconnection: Participating in the campaign demonstrates that the firm is taking active steps to reach customers, rather than waiting passively for them to make contact. 

• Vulnerable customer consideration: Many people with unclaimed assets face barriers to engaging with financial services. They may be elderly, digitally excluded, or simply unaware that they have money waiting for them. The campaign supports efforts to reach these groups. 

• Conduct risk mitigation: Dormant assets represent a conduct risk. Regulators expect firms to make genuine efforts to reunite customers with their money. Participation in a visible, industry-wide initiative provides evidence of that effort. 

For compliance, risk, and operations leaders, the campaign offers a way to demonstrate action in a context where regulators are paying close attention. 

How the campaign measures progress 

Measurement is built into the campaign from the start. Partners agree to support proportionate reporting, contributing to a shared picture of progress toward the £1 billion goal. 

This isn't about creating new compliance burdens or demanding detailed data submissions. The aim is transparency and accountability. The industry is making a public commitment and the public has a right to know whether that commitment is being met. 

Collective reporting also helps identify what is working. If certain approaches are delivering better results, that information can be shared across the campaign. If progress is slower than expected, the campaign can adjust its focus.

Measurement, in other words, isn't just about accountability; it's about learning. 

How your organisation can join the Billions 4 Millions campaign 

Joining the campaign is straightforward. Organisations interested in participating can email join@billions4millions.com to get started.

Gretel leads the campaign and can facilitate onboarding, answer questions, and help new partners understand how they can contribute. For firms already working on customer reconnection, perhaps using digital tracing solutions, the campaign offers a way to amplify that work and connect it to a broader industry effort. 

The founding partners include Aviva, Standard Life, Janus Henderson Investors, Foresters Financial, J. P. Morgan Asset Management and Rathbones Asset Management, with more firms joining regularly. The campaign is growing, and there is room for organisations of all sizes to participate. 

---

FAQs about the Billions 4 Millions initiative 

Is there a cost for organisations to participate in Billions 4 Millions? 

There is no participation fee. Billions 4 Millions is a voluntary initiative. Organisations commit time and engagement rather than money. 

How long must organisations remain committed to the Billions 4 Millions campaign? 

There is no fixed minimum term. Participating organisations commit to the campaign's principles for as long as they choose to remain involved. The expectation is genuine engagement, but the decision to continue or withdraw remains with each organisation. 

Can organisations participate in Billions 4 Millions without holding dormant assets? 

Yes. Fintechs, charities, industry bodies, and other ecosystem players can participate through advocacy, visibility, and amplifying awareness. Holding dormant assets isn't a requirement. 

How does Billions 4 Millions differ from asset tracing services? 

Billions 4 Millions is a coordinated industry campaign focused on collective action and public awareness. Asset tracing services, by contrast, are operational tools used by individual firms to locate specific customers. The two are complementary. A firm might use a digital tracing service to find lost customers while also participating in Billions 4 Millions to support the broader industry effort.