Partnerships

2025 has been a pivotal year for StepChange partnerships — marked by more strategic, future‑focused collaboration, the rollout of innovations that strengthen alignment and shared value, and a united commitment to reaching people earlier to improve outcomes and build long‑term financial resilience.

Working with our rapidly expanding partnership network — spanning financial services, Credit Reference Agencies, utilities, telecoms, and local government — StepChange has strengthened its partnership model. This has delivered meaningful benefits for all parties: enhanced referral pathways and services for customers who need support, alongside richer reporting and insights that aid decision‑making and demonstrate good outcomes under the Consumer Duty.

The charity’s 2025–2030 strategy puts partnerships at the heart of our mission: combining data, technology, and human expertise to reduce both the likelihood and severity of problem debt across the UK. This work is reinforced by strong policy and campaigning activity, advocating for positive change on behalf of consumers facing financial difficulty, for whom solutions are often complex and hard‑won.

To all our partners — whether you support us financially, collaborate operationally, or amplify our policy and campaigning messages — we remain deeply grateful. Your support ensures that people in, or at risk of, problem debt are identified earlier, and through our combined expertise, have a far greater chance of rebuilding financial resilience quickly and continuing their journey towards improved financial wellbeing.

StepChange’s partnerships in 2025 have centred on addressing need, co‑creation, shared insight and measurable impact. We have continued to work closely with all partners — including community‑based organisations — to ensure people in financial difficulty receive timely, free, impartial and expert support.

Key developments include:

• Strengthening relationships with major banks, including Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group, to improve referral pathways and embed Consumer Duty principles across joint initiatives.
• Expanding partnerships with energy providers, such as British Gas and OVO, to ensure vulnerable customers can access specialist debt advice quickly and seamlessly.
• Enhancing collaboration with later‑life lending providers, including the Equity Release Group (ERG), to support older consumers navigating complex and often high‑stakes financial decisions.

Collectively, these partnerships have helped accelerate StepChange’s transition to a digital‑first, data‑led, expert‑powered service model — while maintaining the highest standards of advice quality and ensuring customers receive the support they need when they need it most.

Technology and data have been central to transforming debt‑advice delivery in 2025, and StepChange’s partners have played a vital role in accelerating this progress. Together, we have enabled:

• AI‑enabled triage and support tools, improving accessibility, personalisation, and the ability to route people to the right help quickly.
• Scalable digital services, allowing the charity to meet rising demand more efficiently while maintaining high‑quality advice.
• Shared data insights, helping identify emerging vulnerabilities and shaping more targeted, effective interventions.

Within the energy sector, the Growth & Innovation directorate has continued to advance major partnership projects, working with British Gas and OVO to design and launch targeted support services for people experiencing energy‑related debt. These pilots directly address customer disengagement by leveraging the trust of the StepChange brand to reconnect clients with their energy suppliers and restart constructive dialogue.

The impact and early results demonstrate clear potential for wider sector adoption. Insights from this work are already informing discussions with additional energy partners and strengthening the case for broader investment in tailored, collaborative debt‑support solutions.

This work is guided by StepChange’s theory of change, which partners have helped shape and deliver.

Discover how British Gas and StepChange are working together to provide faster, more personalised support for households facing financial difficulties. With an expanded referral scheme, embedded expertise, and new community outreach initiatives, this partnership is helping thousands of customers access expert debt advice and long‑term financial solutions. Read the full case study to see how this collaboration is making a meaningful difference this winter and beyond.

The annual StepChange Connected event, held in October at The Queens Hotel in Leeds, brought together leaders from financial services, utilities, housing, technology, and the third sector.

Highlights included:

• Cross sector discussions on financial resilience, AI, and the future of debt advice
• Client stories illustrating the real-world impact of collaborative work
• Thought leadership sessions on reducing the likelihood and severity of problem debt
• A showcase of StepChange’s 2025–2030 strategy and innovation roadmap

The event reinforced the shared responsibility across sectors to support financially vulnerable consumers.