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.

3 Metro Bank have made history by allowing customers and staff to identify themselves as non-binary on forms Credit: PA:Press Association

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 Buzzfeed News earlier this year that they couldn't open a bank account because they don't identify as male or female.

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Chief People Officer of Metro Bank Danny Harmer told Buzzfeed: “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.”

3 The move was inspired by the story of Scottish teen Kaelin Farnish, who doesn't identify as male or female and couldn't find a bank account that would accept them as non-binary Credit: Facebook / Kaelin Farnish

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.

What does non-binary mean? Non-binary refers to any gender that is not exclusively male or female.

The Oxford English dictionary define being non-binary as "Denoting or relating to a gender or sexual identity that is not defined in terms of traditional binary oppositions such as male and female or homosexual and heterosexual."

Non-binary people may also identify as transgender or transsexual, but the two are not exclusively linked.

Famous non-binary people include Jack Monroe, Miley Cyrus, Eddie Izzard and Ruby Rose.

They told Buzzfeed: “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.”

And non-binary campaigner Jack Monroe backed the move, branding it a "positive step" that is "carving a new path for traditional banking models".

3 Non-binary campaigner Jack Monroe, who goes by the title of Mx, backed the move which she says is important for people who don't see themselves as male or female Credit: Fame Flynet

They told Buzzfeed: “I use the Mx title and people pull me up about it and I say, ‘Why does it bother you so much? Who is it harming?’ Whereas enforced gender binaries do harm people in a very real way. "Imagine if there were only two tick boxes for race on a form, or two boxes for name: ‘You can call yourself either Bill or Jane or you can’t bank here’ – people would be in uproar.”

They added: “It might seem like quite small potatoes to people who are not affected by it, but it can be quite invalidating to come up against a series of daily tick-boxes that tell you that you don’t fit, that you’re not right.

"It makes such a difference to people who are affected by it.”

A number of banks in the UK including Barclays, HSBC, Halifax, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Natwest currently allow customers to use the title Mx.

However, Metro Bank are the first to allow customers to tick a box describing themselves as non-binary instead of male or female.

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