Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: Natwest copies Starling with carers card

Nothing new under the sun. I worked for Diners Club in the 1980ies and the "companion card" was back then a standard feature. 

May not be unique - but nonetheless a good thing in current circumstances. And there appears to no covert customer acquisition angle to undermine the good intentions. 

From a tech perspective, interesting NatWest has moved more or less as quickly as Starling. You'd think they'd have more legacy to overcome.

Any suggestion that these services have been introduced for “covert customer acquisition” would be somewhat disingenuous, they are there to fill a real need. This NatWest service seems however to imitate the Starling service without its key advantages for customer oversight and control. True, secondary cards have been a feature on credit cards for decades but what was lacking was both true real time information on the spend as it was incurred, the limitation on types of spend and the ability of the customer to turn it off instantly.

Historically secondary cards have often been given to family members not to unrelated individuals whose only connection is via a contract of employment of which they may not be the principal.

Without the ability to see spend as it happens and turn it on and off instantly at will, you are essentially relying on trust not control. I doubt that NatWest have this fully covered and essentially once the card is topped up, the control on spend is limited by value only. The comment by NatWest that “To enhance security, the carers card will be associated with the customer’s existing bank account but kept separate on the bank’s systems” doesn’t give any clue to controls the customer has what information on spend they will have and when. Some clarity from NatWest on this would be welcome.

I am also concerned that by allowing access to cash, as NatWest does, you are potentially placing the carer in an invidious position. It is a key principle of many carer's contracts of employment that they will not handle their client’s cash. To do so could render them liable to dismissal.

Both these services are well intentioned and can be helpful, but any professional carer would be well advised to check carefully with their employer first that using these services is permitted. (Get this in writing from your Employer if their published policy isn’t clear). Those giving access to their money need both to trust the individual they choose and to understand the controls that are in place.

Liability for loss is likely to rest principally with the customer who will often be vulnerable.