Bank Services: Greater London

(asked on 5th September 2023) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to (a) cash and (b) banking services in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London; and what steps he is taking to ensure adequate access to (A) cash and (B) banking services in those areas in the next five years.


Answered by
Andrew Griffith Portrait
Andrew Griffith
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This question was answered on 13th September 2023

The government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services.

The government has legislated to protect access to cash. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 provides the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash access services. The FCA is currently developing its approach and will consult in due course.

Regarding bank branch closures, these decisions are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks.

Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.

Alternative options for access to banking can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

New shared Banking Hubs are also being introduced, providing cash and basic banking services and dedicated space where community bankers from major banks can meet customers of that bank. To date, industry has committed to deliver Banking Hubs in 80 locations. Further information on Banking Hubs is available at: https://www.cashaccess.co.uk/

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