What an attorney can and cannot do on someone's bank account

Once a bank has registered your power of attorney, you can usually run the account much as the account holder would: pay bills, move money, check statements, set up standing orders and close accounts that are no longer needed. One bank states that a registered attorney can manage an account in the same way the account holder can, including carrying out transactions, closing an account and updating details such as the correspondence address¹.

What you cannot do is change who owns the account. An attorney cannot change account ownership or add someone new to the account². You also cannot use the donor's own cards, chequebooks or login details to get in³, and you cannot borrow in their name: attorneys cannot apply for credit cards, overdrafts or loans, or increase existing credit limits, though paying off existing debt and managing mortgage payments is allowed⁴.

The practical catch is that banks set their own rules on top of the law. Whether you get a debit card, internet banking or the mobile app depends on which bank it is and on how the power of attorney was written, particularly whether attorneys were appointed to act jointly or jointly and severally.

What a registered attorney can do on the account

The starting point is that registration turns you into someone the bank will deal with directly. One bank lists the everyday actions open to an attorney as accessing balances and statements, making payments, setting up and using digital, mobile and telephone banking, and getting a debit or ATM card or a chequebook for the account⁷. Another says a registered attorney can carry out transactions, close an account and update details on behalf of the account holder, including changing the correspondence address to the first named attorney's registered address¹.

That last point matters more than it sounds. If the donor has moved into care, or post is going to an empty house, being able to redirect correspondence to yourself keeps statements, notices and renewal letters arriving somewhere they will be read.

There are limits built into the role itself. An attorney must respect the donor's confidentiality, follow the donor's instructions and preferences, and keep the donor's money and property separate from their own⁶. The relevant authorities can request information about how the power is being used, check decisions, and may arrange a visit or contact people who know the donor⁶. Keeping a record of important decisions, and of the donor's assets, income and spending, is part of the job⁶.

Some accounts cannot be registered for at all. One bank says there are accounts an attorney cannot be registered for, giving the example of an account the donor is managing on behalf of someone else⁸.

What an attorney cannot do: ownership and new account holders

The clearest line is ownership. An attorney cannot change account ownership or add someone new to the account². That rules out putting your own name on the account, converting it to a joint account, or moving it into someone else's name.

Borrowing is closed off too. Attorneys cannot apply for credit cards, overdrafts or loans, or increase existing credit limits, on behalf of someone else, though they can pay off existing debt and manage mortgage payments⁴. The distinction is between managing what exists and creating new obligations in the donor's name.

There is also a rule about whose credentials you use. An attorney cannot use the donor's cards, chequebooks or login details to access or manage their accounts³. Access has to be granted to you as attorney, in your own right, not borrowed from the donor.

Online and app banking for attorneys: rules vary by bank

This is where banks diverge most, and where a reader is most likely to hit a wall. Most banks give telephone and online access plus branch instructions, but only a small number give access to the mobile app⁶. So an attorney who can see the account on a laptop may find the phone app simply will not let them in.

Some banks do offer it. One says the attorney might be able to access the donor's accounts using its internet bank with their own login details³. Another says an attorney or someone appointed under a court order may be able to access the account holder's account information online¹⁰. One bank confirms online and mobile banking access for general, enduring and lasting powers of attorney⁵.

Others restrict it. One building society says that once an attorney is added to an online savings account, neither the account holder nor the attorney can use or manage it online, though it can still be viewed, and all other transactions have to be completed by phone, post or branch¹¹. The Financial Ombudsman Service has published a case involving a bank that told an attorney she could access her mother's accounts online in her own right, but only through the desktop banking platform¹².

Joint attorneys: what changes when more than one person is appointed

How the power was drafted changes what the bank can offer. Where attorneys are appointed to act jointly, all of them must act together, and any service that would let just one attorney access the account alone, such as a debit card, internet banking, mobile banking or telephone banking, cannot be provided⁵. One bank puts it plainly: all attorneys must be present together in branch to give instructions or carry out transactions, and they cannot use its internet bank or have a debit card³.

Where attorneys are appointed jointly and severally, meaning any one of them can act alone, the picture is different. One bank says they can visit a branch, have a debit card and, if eligible, access the donor's accounts through internet banking³. Another says attorneys can choose to act independently or together, manage the account in telephone and online banking, and have a debit card¹³.

Which? notes that appointing attorneys jointly can limit access to services such as online or mobile banking and debit cards¹⁴. That is a drafting decision made when the power is created, long before the bank is involved, and it is difficult to undo afterwards.

Accounts where the bank must give permission first

Some accounts need the bank's agreement before an attorney can operate them at all. One set of account terms states that before an attorney can operate the account, the bank will have to give its permission¹⁵. That is a contractual condition rather than a legal one, and it means the answer for that particular account is not automatic.

There are also accounts where the donor's own access ends once an attorney is appointed. One bank states that by appointing an attorney to operate the account, the account holder will be unable to do so¹⁶. That is worth knowing before registering the power, because it can remove the donor's own ability to manage money they can still manage themselves.

Where the donor still has mental capacity and the power is registered, the position is more flexible. With a registered enduring or lasting power of attorney, the bank will allow the attorney and the account holder with capacity to operate the account independently of each other, unless the account holder with capacity objects, in which case the bank will usually only allow the account to operate on a both-to-sign basis².

Debit cards for the donor's account

Whether an attorney can hold a debit card on the donor's account depends on the bank and on how the attorneys were appointed. One bank says that as the attorney, you can request a debit card for the donor's account to help manage their finances³. Another says the same, that you may be able to request one¹⁷. One bank lists having a debit card on the account as something an attorney can do, unless they are appointed to act jointly¹⁸.

Where the donor still has mental capacity, one bank's rules allow both the donor and the attorney to have cards; where the donor lacks capacity, only the attorney will have a debit card¹⁰.

There are also cases where a card is refused for a specific reason. Nationwide will not allow the donor and the attorney to each have a debit card on the same account¹⁹.

For attorneys acting jointly, the position is firmer: one bank says that where all attorneys must act together, they will need to make an appointment for all of them to visit a branch or a Barclays Local site, and all must agree that any individual attorney can ask for changes to the card¹³.

Closing an account, and what the bank will ask for

Closing an account is generally within an attorney's powers, and some banks handle it without adding the attorney to the account first. One building society says that if you want to add a new attorney to an existing account because you want to close the account immediately, it does not need to add them; it just needs to see the power of attorney document and their identification¹¹.

Banks will ask for paperwork before any of this happens. Typically that means the original document, a certified copy or a digital access code or certificate, proof of each attorney's identity such as a passport or driving licence, and proof of address such as a recent utility bill⁶. For an enduring power of attorney, signed copies need to be shown to the bank and any financial advisers so the attorneys can manage the accounts²⁰.

Some providers require applications by post. NS&I says that if you act as an attorney or deputy for another person, your first application to open an account must be by post, even for accounts that are normally opened online or by phone²¹. Cheques should where possible be drawn on a bank account in the donor's name; if not, a cheque from an attorney or deputy account with an explanation is accepted²².

Where the protection stops, and where to get help

The rules that protect the donor are the ones that constrain the attorney. Keeping the donor's money separate, following their instructions and recording decisions are duties, not preferences, and the relevant authorities can ask to see how the power is being used⁶. The Financial Conduct Authority's banking conduct rules treat an attorney obtaining access to an account as a form of third party access, which brings it inside the regulator's framework for how banks treat customers²³.

If a bank refuses to recognise a power, or handles it badly, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at the complaint. In one published case it found that a bank had not offered an attorney the same level of support it would have expected it to give a customer¹².

Free, impartial help is available. MoneyHelper covers everyday banking questions, and the power of attorney pages on how to make and register a lasting power of attorney and registering a power of attorney with a bank set out the steps in order. If the donor is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the rules and the documents differ, and the pages on powers of attorney in Scotland and power of attorney in Northern Ireland cover those.