Introducing charitable-giving accounts into high street banks could increase giving by up to £1bn, the Philanthropy Review has suggested today.

The Review’s feasibility study into charity bank accounts, released this afternoon, found that there is appetite for the accounts among the public and among organisations that would be – and are – involved in creating charitable giving accounts. Such accounts involve donors putting money in a specific bank account with the purpose of giving that money away, and would likely involve some tax benefit.

More than one-fifth of all donors, and 18 per cent of affluent and high net worth givers, said that they would be interested in using a charitable-giving account, according to a YouGov poll quoted in the survey. Of those who would be interested in such an account, 51 per cent said that having the mechanism would encourage them to give more money than they presently do.

The Philanthropy Review has now set up a working party, comprised of representatives from both the charity and financial services sector, to push forward on the possible introduction of charitable-giving bank accounts.

Matthew Bowcock, chair of the Community Foundation Network and member of the Review board, said: “This report takes us one step closer to seeing charity bank accounts become a key product on offer with the high street banks. The integration of charity bank accounts with mainstream personal banking has the potential to transform the way we all donate to charity.”