Post Offices: Bank Services

(asked on 20th September 2022) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of whether (a) banks and (b) building societies would be willing to provide (i) training and (ii) equipment to help ensure that post offices are able to undertake over-the-counter banking services.


Answered by
Andrew Griffith Portrait
Andrew Griffith
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This question was answered on 22nd September 2022

The Government recognises that millions of people across the UK continue to use cash as part of their daily lives, particularly those in vulnerable groups, and has introduced legislation to protect access to cash as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The Bill intends to establish the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator for cash access and provide it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.

The Government welcomes The Post Office Banking Framework between Post Office Limited and the major UK banks which allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

This is a commercial agreement and therefore the Government does not make assessments of the commercial discussions between POL and participating firms. However, the Government expects the UK banking sector to continue to ensure customers have appropriate access to banking services.

Any method for depositing cash must comply with relevant regulations, including Money Laundering Regulations. The value of cash that can be deposited at a Post Office branch is a commercial decision for the parties involved.

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