Banks brace for new deal with Post Office over cash access fee 

Britain’s biggest banks are set to get in talks with the Post Office over a new deal to allow millions of their customers to withdraw cash at its branches, recent reports have stated.

According to a report in Sky News, a group of lenders including Barclays and HSBC are in the process of forming a shared interest group to represent the industry in talks with the government-owned company during the coming months.

The negotiations will be aimed create a new Banking Framework Agreement. Under a current agreement, roughly 30 banks and building societies participate, paying in aggregate approximately £200 million annually to facilitate that Britons can access to the Post Office’s 11,500 branches. The service is particularly valuable to those who still rely on physical cash as almost 6,000 bank branches have been closed across Britain.

Banking industry sources say they anticipate a demand from the financially challenged Post Office to hike the fee it charges them for using its sites, with some speculating that they expect it to seek up to £400m-a-year.

In 2023, more than £10bn worth of cash was withdrawn over the counter and £29bn in cash was deposited over the counter, the Post Office said. Most recently, Post Office branches saw personal cash deposits total £3.48 bn at its branches in April, the highest amount of cash ever deposited.

In total, Post Offices handled £2.62bn in personal and business cash deposits in April compared with £2.26bn last April. Personal cash withdrawals from Post Office’s 11,500 branches totaled £864.9m in April, up over +20.4 per cent YOY.

A Post Office spokesperson said, “Our partnership with 30 banks and building societies ensures that no one who relies on cash is left behind, made possible by our postmasters in almost every community of the country.

“This is all the more important following the introduction of the Access to Cash legislation and further highlights the critical role postmasters play today, and in the future, in supporting customers with accessing their cash.

“We do not comment on ongoing commercial negotiations.”