FCA confirms plan to protect access to cash for consumers, small businesses

Banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services, like branches and ATMs, and plug significant gaps, under new FCA rules announced today (24).

From 18 September, banks and building societies will need to:

• assess cash access and understand if additional services are needed, when changes are being made to local services
• respond to local residents, community organisations and representative groups, who will be able to request an assessment of whether there are gaps in local cash access
• deliver reasonable additional cash services, where significant gaps are found
• keep facilities, including bank branches and ATMs, open until any additional cash services identified are available

Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: "Three million people continue to rely on cash, even as digital payments become more popular. And many small businesses still need somewhere to safely deposit their takings each day.

"That’s why we’ve acted quickly in response to new powers given to us by Parliament to ensure reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposits is maintained."

Gaps in cash access could be filled with a range of measures, including banking hubs, ATMs (including deposit ATMs) and Post Office facilities. The FCA's powers won’t prevent the closure of bank branches – but will have an impact where branch closures leave significant gaps in local cash access.

Fourteen banks and building societies have been designated by the Government to deliver this new cash access system.

The FCA has made changes to the rules it consulted on, including extending the period for banks and building societies to carry out cash access assessments, giving local communities more time to make their case. Firms will also be able to review the provision of identified cash services after 2 years.

The FCA has also published research on who relies on cash. This found that being in a low-income household (less than £15,000 a year) and having low digital capability or access has the strongest association with reliance on cash.

Welcoming the FCA's move, Ross Borkett, Banking Director at Post Office said, “We are delighted to see the publication of the new access to cash regulations to give consumers and businesses more certainty around the future of cash in the UK.

"Post Office will continue to play its role at the heart of the nation’s cash infrastructure, with Postmasters across the UK providing easy access to everyday banking within every community. The last few months have seen Post Office handle record amounts of cash for customers right across the UK”.

With over 11,500 branches, Post Office plays a crucial role in access to cash and banking services. Post Office has more branches than all banks/ building societies combined and is increasingly taking a key role in the provision of access to cash across the banking landscape.