Support vulnerable customers with confidence and care.
The Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) helps organisations identify, understand, and support customers who may be in vulnerable circumstances — while strengthening compliance and protecting reputation.
What is the Vulnerability Registration Service for Businesses?
The Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) is the largest and most penetrative database to allow organisations to identify their customers’ vulnerabilities and challenges. Its purpose is to allow a single view of customers by drawing on customer insight from individuals themselves, those authorised to act on their behalf and from their service providers, regardless of sector.
VRS helps identify your vulnerable customers, determine their needs and enables you to give them appropriate support.
Why use VRS:
Partnering with the VRS helps your organisation:
Understand your customers up front – avoid repetitive, protracted and unnecessary conversations
Tailor products and customer journeys to individual’s circumstances
Help your customers get the support they need. Allow customers to benefit from the VRS partnership network
Meet the expectations of regulators through your customer management
Access and share data through our API and realise the benefits of the VRS client portal
VRS helps organisations proactively avoid financial and digital exclusion
Identify
Understand customers’ financial wellbeing, health, accessibility and life event-related vulnerabilities in real time by accessing the VRS vulnerability flags
Gain full context about your customers’ circumstances – individuals disclose an average of five aspects of vulnerability when registering with VRS
Have confidence in the data – VRS obtains data directly from individuals or those acting or their behalf; this is reinforced by data shared by other sources which have a permitted purpose to disclose data
Identify the most vulnerable - those customers who are not in a position to share their own circumstances. VRS enables individuals (eg those with Power of Attorney) or organisations with authority to help identify vulnerable customers
Be ahead of the game – VRS allows people to flag when they wish to be declined credit
Accurate and up to date - VRS data is updated in real time. Our consumer portal allows customers to manage their own data to ensure it accurately reflects their situation at any given time
Respond to customers’ needs
Help customers achieve the right outcomes – VRS gives your customers a voice to communicate what their vulnerability means and how you can treat them fairly
Communicate in the right way – more that 50% of people registering with VRS simply ask for specific communication routes or clear explanations
Maximise Engagement – understanding the best channels for communication, your customers’ needs and circumstances maximises the opportunity for effective engagement
Monitor – assess the effectiveness of your treatment of vulnerable customers through monitoring whether customer outcomes match their needs
Training and evaluation – identify training and development needs through evaluating how your organisation responds to customer needs
Support
Take advantage of the VRS partnership network developed to assist and streamline access to help. VRS works with a host of partners to allow vulnerable individuals to identify and realise the support available to them. This includes:
Debt advice
Income and expenditure
Eligibility for discounts and social tariffs
Links to Priority Service Registration
Support for unpaid carers
Links to relevant charities and support resources
Vulnerability Training
Our vulnerability training courses help staff identify and respond to customers in vulnerable situations with empathy, professionalism, and compliance.
Online and classroom options
Tailored sessions for financial, utilities, and housing sectors
Led by experienced industry trainers
Regularly updated to reflect FCA and regulatory guidance
Data Protection & Governance
VRS operates under the highest standards of data protection and governance.
We handle sensitive data with transparency, accountability, and strict access controls.
Every organisation using VRS must be registered, verified, and compliant with our data-sharing agreements.
Partnership Opportunities
We’re always seeking new partners who want to deliver fairer, more consistent experiences for vulnerable customers.
Let’s build a fairer service environment -together.
“Working with the Vulnerability Registration Service has strengthened how we support vulnerable individuals here at Western Circle. VRS brings clarity, consistency, and compassion into our processes."
– Jeremy Lloyd, Director, Western Circle
Be part of the answer - work with the Vulnerability Registration Service
Partner with the Vulnerability Registration Service today to strengthen compliance, protect customers, and lead the way in ethical business practice.