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For people living with dementia, managing day to day finances while staying safe can be a challenge. It’s a sad fact that having dementia can make you more vulnerable to scams, and other forms of financial abuse. It’s also true that feeling in control of your own money is an important part of maintaining independence, and living well with dementia.

Why does financial independence matter for people with dementia?

Sibstar is a new type of bank card specially designed for people with dementia. It’s the brain child of Jayne Sibley, who saw a gap in the market when her own mum began struggling to cope with money. “As mum’s dementia got worse, she was taking money out of the cashpoint two or three times a day and giving it away, or buying things she didn’t need,” says Jayne. “She was also losing money to fraudsters.”

Jayne and her mum

The family tried a number of different workarounds, but nothing worked. Eventually, they felt the only solution was to take over control of her finances. “Of course we did that with her consent,” says Jayne. “But it wasn’t the best solution for any of us. If you don’t have access to money, you’re not going shopping, or buying a coffee or a gift for a friend – all these things that help enhance quality of life and keep people engaged with the world. I just thought there had to be a better way.”

Sibstar – a new type of bank card

 Enter Sibstar, a new type of card designed especially for people with dementia. It works like a normal debit card, but with a daily spend limit, set by you or a carer. The accompanying Sibstar app lets you manage how you use the card – so for example, whether you want to be able to take money out of a cashpoint or use your card over the phone or online. If you’re not confident using the app yourself, you can ask a friend or family member to do it for you.

5 benefits of the Sibstar card

There are lots of ways Sibstar can make life easier for people with dementia. Here are 5 key benefits:

1. Set your own limits: You can set daily or monthly spending limits to suit your needs. You can also set a limit on cashpoint withdrawals.
2. Flexibility: Change your limit, and switch contactless, phone and online card use on or off at any time.
3. Top-up automatically: Set a daily auto top-up so if your card runs low, it gets topped up by an agreed amount. So you’ll never need to worry about those ‘card declined’ moments.
4. Track your transactions: Get real-time notifications via the app showing where and when your card has been used – security and reassurance for you and your family.
5. Stay safe: You can immediately freeze and unfreeze your card through the app – so if it’s get mislaid, your money is still safe.

Want to know more about how Sibstar works? Read about it here

What do people think about Sibstar?

 Here are some testimonials from just a few of the thousands of families Sibstar has helped:

• “Sibstar is easy to use and gives us both peace of mind.” Penny and Mike
• “Having my sister support me is wonderful. It’s so reassuring to know she is helping to keep an eye on things.” Peggy and Elaine
• “Sibstar has saved our family so much worry. My nan loves it because she can go about her daily life without worrying about being scammed or losing money.” Tracy and Florence

Tracy and Florence

The Sibstar story so far

It’s just two years since Sibstar was launched in May 2023, but already thousands of families living with dementia have benefited from the card and app. The story is all the more remarkable when you consider that Jayne was formerly a marketing and comms specialist, with no background in finance.

“It was a real leap of faith!” she says. “We had some great support early on from the Alzheimer’s Society Accelerator Programme which helped get us started. I had to learn from scratch how you set up a debit card. One of our models was Go Henry, and  Louise Hill, who set up that company, is now one of our non-executive directors. We also secured the support of Mastercard, which really helped to open doors for us.”

The Sibstar story also includes an appearance on Dragon’s Den – where Jayne and team succeeded in winning investment from two Dragons, Deborah Meaden and Sara Davies – and a place for Jayne on the Women in Fintech Power List 2025. So why does she think Sibstar has been such a success?

“Previously, you had two extremes,” she says. “Either the person with dementia was trying to manage their own finances, with all the risks and problems that go with it, or they had to hand over control to someone else. With Sibstar, you’ve got the best of both worlds. It occupies that middle space and it’s such a simple solution. People want to stay independent for as long as they can, but also to feel safe and supported. That’s what you get with Sibstar.”

Want to know more?

You can read more about Sibstar here. NHS UK also has some great practical guidance on managing finances for people with dementia.

ADSS can also help you with support on all aspects of living with dementia, including protecting yourself from fraud and scams. Contact us to find out how we help you.