Post Office branches to hold ‘Save Our Cash Day’ campaign in local communities

Post Office has launched a ‘Save Our Cash Day’ campaign, highlighting the urgent need to make access to cash a legal right.

Post Office branches across the country will host events today to raise awareness of the issue and call on the general public to take action. The campaign shines light on more than eight million people who say they would struggle to survive without cash.

New research from Post Office has shown that 72 per cent of UK consumers believe that cash is an important consumer right. The majority (57%) are concerned about bank branch closures, with a third (33%) saying that they are personally affected.

The research has also found that majority of British SME businesses believe cash is important to UK high street’s future. A survey of more than 500 SME businesses has shown that two thirds (66%) feel that cash use is important to the recovery of the UK retail industry from the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns and restrictions.

Just under a third (31%) of SMEs say that their business has been directly affected by bank branch closures, and a fifth (20%) said they would be concerned about the safety and/or security of their business, without the ability to deposit cash at the end of the day.

The research found that 28 per cent of SME businesses in Britain use physical cash at least weekly. Almost a quarter (24%) feel that their business would struggle without the ability to use cash and the same proportion believe that if they did not accept cash, many of their customers may not use their goods or services.

“Ensuring everyone in every community continues to have free access to cash is fundamental to the nation’s economic and social wellbeing. We cannot forget those across the country who continue to rely on it – from the millions of small businesses to ordinary people who use cash to budget, save and survive,” commented Nick Read, chief executive at the Post Office.

“With ‘Save Our Cash Day’, the Post Office is calling on the government to speed up the delivery of the necessary legislative and regulatory frameworks which must underpin the long-term future of the cash system. Banks should be required, by law, to provide their customers free access to cash and cash services irrespective of where they happen to live or work. Anything short of legislation will fail the millions who continue to depend on it day-to-day.”

The campaign comes at a time when accessing cash for free is becoming increasingly difficult. According to Which? research, 4,188 bank branches have closed since the start of 2015, a rate of approximately 50 per month. More than 500 more are earmarked for closure in 2021.

As part of the campaign, Post Office is hosting events in various locations across its network today and this weekend. A new website will allow the public to find out more about the issue, with real stories of people reliant on cash and how cash plays such a pivotal role in their lives.

Post Office has also called on the public to write to their MP to support policies and legislation that protect cash and place an obligation on the banks to guarantee access to cash across the UK.