British bank introduces third gender option for customers who don’t identify as male or female

A BRITISH bank has made history by introducing a non-binary option on sign-up forms for people who don't identify as male or female.

From today, customers and employees at Metro Bank can tick a box describing their gender as non-binary and use the title Mx instead of Mr, Mrs, Miss, or Ms when signing up to a new account.

The title of Mx is commonly used by non-binary people and those who don't wish to reveal their gender.

Metro Bank say the decision was triggered by the case of Scottish teen Kaelin Fanish, who told earlier this year that they couldn't open a bank account because they don't identify as male or female.

Chief People Officer of Metro Bank Danny Harmer told : “Once you realise this is an issue [you notice that] every single thing you pick up says, ‘Title: Mr or Mrs.’ And then the next question is ‘Gender: male or female.’

"And one of the things at Metro is that we try to listen. Sometimes there are issues that are too difficult to do something about, but this one was definitely not one of them.

“If customers come in and say, ‘I’m trans and actually I want something else, then we’ll take the feedback and sort it out.

“We thought we’d start somewhere. I think a lot of organisations get tied up in finding reasons not to do things and worrying about how it might be misinterpreted.

"If people get a bit annoyed with me for getting it 80% right I’ll take that, because I’d rather have it 80% right than not try at all.”

Kaelin, 17, hailed the move as a "massive step forward" for non-binary people. The Edinburgh Napier University student says they hope other banks will be inspired by the idea.

They told : “Considering the bank is going to announce they’re having an option for non-binary people I think in the wider world it’s going to raise more awareness of non-binary people in general.

“This is the first time that a big corporation has included non-binary people and given that as an option, so it is a massive step forward and I’m really happy to see it happen.

"I hope this sparks something so that gender options and gender choices become less rigid, and maybe it will trigger other banks to change their policies as well.”