On 17 July 2026, GOV.UK published open letters to business leaders and the financial sector, asking them to work with government on digital services that are easier to use, more accessible and less exclusionary. The message is framed around everyday essentials rather than niche tech policy: paying bills, managing money, accessing transport and keeping up with news all increasingly depend on digital access that actually works for ordinary customers. (gov.uk)

According to the industry letter, the problem is not limited to people who are offline. DSIT says around 27% of UK adults are "narrow internet users" and about 43% ask someone else to do something for them online. That is a useful shift in emphasis for business readers. The weak point is often not connectivity, but whether a customer can complete a task without confusion, delay or outside help. (gov.uk)

The financial sector is not being treated as the main offender. In its separate letter, GOV.UK says banks and other finance firms have already made significant progress on inclusive design, accessibility testing, clearer customer flows and extra support for people with complex needs or vulnerabilities. Ministers even describe many financial services organisations as examples of leading practice, while warning that standards remain uneven across the wider economy. (gov.uk)

What government wants next is straightforward. Services should be easy to understand, built with disabled people and those at risk of digital exclusion in mind, and designed so that privacy, security and safety do not add extra friction. DSIT says it wants a shared view of what good looks like, a voluntary approach shaped by standards, and a cross-sector roadmap for adoption. (gov.uk)

For companies, this takes digital access out of the narrow compliance box and puts it into day-to-day service performance. In business terms, when an online process is too hard to complete, the cost does not disappear; it turns up in abandoned applications, repeat contacts, complaints handling and informal support from family or friends. The government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan makes a similar point, saying more inclusive services can improve user experience, cut failure demand and lower delivery costs. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

There is also a clear policy signal in the wording. Ministers say they would prefer voluntary collaboration, but they are keeping open the option of further intervention if progress is too slow. In parallel, the same action plan says government is proposing minimum WCAG AA standards for public-facing platforms and wants evidence on how services meet future inclusion expectations. For boards, that means this issue now sits with product teams, operations and risk as much as with legal or public affairs. (gov.uk)

The immediate ask is co-operation. DSIT says it wants to start with roundtable work to define the problem more clearly and agree a timetable across sectors. For Market Pulse UK readers, the main takeaway is simple: if a customer cannot finish a basic digital task without help, the service design still has work to do. That is no longer just a social inclusion concern; it is a customer retention, trust and operating cost issue as well. (gov.uk)