Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Lloyds Bank, (b) HSBC, and (c) RBS on their continued commitment to the banking framework with the Post Office.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with many organisations in the public and private sectors on a variety of issues.
The Government had limited engagement with all parties during negotiation of the Banking Framework, to ensure they were given the appropriate commercial freedom to negotiate the contract.
Post Office Limited announced in the Spring that renegotiated commercial terms and service enhancements for the Banking Framework had been agreed, and will take effect from January 2020 until January 2023. All 28 banks who were part of the original Banking Framework have signed up to the renegotiated agreement, which will see a significant increase to the overall fees received by Post Office Limited from the banks.
Barclays initially made the decision to uniquely opt out of cash withdrawal services at post offices through the renegotiated Banking Framework agreement, but they have since reversed this decision. The Government welcomes this renegotiated agreement that, alongside other work by industry, regulators and Government to safeguard cash for those who need it, will ensure that 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers continue to have access to everyday banking services at the Post Office.
Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2019 to Question 1792, on Barclays: Post Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of Barclays Bank's planned withdrawal from the banking framework with Post Office Ltd on customers in rural areas who (a) do not have access to the internet, (b) are over 75 years old and (c) have accessibility needs.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
On 24 October 2019, following my meeting with Matt Hammerstein, CEO Barclays UK, Barclays announced that they will commit to full participation in the Post Office Banking Framework from the renewal date in early 2020, including maintaining the cash withdrawal facility using debit cards for Barclays customers.
The Government has been clear that industry must play a key role in ensuring access to cash and banking services for people and businesses, and welcomes this decision which will continue to allow 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to carry out their everyday banking services at over 11,500 post offices across the UK.
Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Barclays Bank on the effect on rural areas of the bank's planned withdrawal from the banking framework with Post Office Ltd.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with many organisations in the public and private sectors on a variety of issues.
The Post Office Limited has recently renegotiated the commercial terms and service enhancements for Banking Framework 2, which will take effect from January 2020. The Government welcomes this agreement that, alongside other work by industry, regulators and Government to safeguard cash for those who need it, will ensure that 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers continue to have access to everyday banking services at the Post Office.
Barclays has extended its agreement with Post Office Limited, though its customers won’t be able to withdraw cash over the counter at post offices from January 2020. Barclays’ customers will still be able to check their balance, and pay in cash and cheques. Whilst the Government is committed to maintaining access to cash, and has set up the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group to help ensure this, the decision over precisely how to provide access to banking services is rightly a commercial decision for banks and Government does not intervene in these decisions.
If Barclays customers value withdrawing cash over the counter using the Post Office, they may wish to consider switching to an alternative bank using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). The switch service is free to use, comes with a guarantee to protect customers from financial loss if something goes wrong, and redirects any payments mistakenly sent to the old account, providing further assurance for customers. This means that customers are more able than ever to hold their banks to account by voting with their feet, and that banks are incentivised to work hard to retain their existing customers and attract new ones. More information about CASS is available at:
www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk