Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Major banks have signed a new voluntary agreement that could see more shared banking hubs open in UK towns and villages. The agreement will see an independent assessment carried out by Link each time a branch is shut. These reviews could recommend a shared branch is opened, an ATM installed or a Post Office upgraded. Assessment trials over the past year will lead to 11 new ATMs, improved cash services in 30 Post Offices, and five new shared banking hubs all opening in early 2022.
Analysis shows that more than 4,000 branches have closed since the start of 2015, and another 220 are already scheduled to close next year. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Danske Bank have agreed to the new approach, a collaboration achieved through the Access to Cash Action Group. The collaboration, achieved through the Access to Cash Action Group (CAG) (all major retail banks, Age UK, Toynbee Hall and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)), marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to ensuring widespread cash and banking access for communities where services are limited.
Cash use has been in decline in recent years – a trend accelerated and exacerbated by the pandemic – with current use 35% below pre-Covid levels. However, millions of people across the UK still use cash daily. Banks and consumer groups alike recognise the need to ensure that consumers and small businesses who need cash can continue to withdraw and deposit it.
Under the new model, any community that faces the closure of a core cash service, such as a bank branch or ATM, will have its needs independently assessed by LINK. LINK will then determine whether a new solution should be provided to meet that community’s cash needs. LINK, which already provides ATMs where communities need them, will commission services to meet the cash needs of the community as a whole – not just the customers or members of one bank or building society. Communities will also be able to request a review of their community’s needs from the summer of 2022.
LINK has already assessed most communities where closures have taken place over the past year. As a result, we can announce now that the following new services will be provided in 2022, with announcements of further services to come in early 2022:
These new shared services will complement other industry initiatives to support cash and banking, such as ‘cashback without purchase’ – being rolled out to 2,000 retailers by the end of 2021, mobile branches and pop-up services, as well as services for people who need to make payments in their own homes.
The decision to create shared banking services follows regional pilots across eight UK communities. As part of this, shared banking hubs were piloted in Rochford, Essex and Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire.
This work, of the Cash Action Group (CAG), was convened earlier this year by UK Finance and chair Natalie Ceeney CBE, author of the Access to Cash Review, and made up of senior representatives from across the financial services industry, leading consumer groups, FSB, LINK and the Post Office.
Natalie Ceeney CBE, Chair of CAG and the Community Access to Cash Pilots said I’m delighted that the industry is today committing to ensuring that the cash needs of consumers and small businesses up and down the UK will continue to be met. We know that demand for cash is declining, but we also know that it continues to play a vital part in the lives of at least 5 million people in the UK – including some of the most vulnerable in society. The community pilots have shown that there are many different ways to meet people’s cash needs. Informed by this experience, I’m confident that the new plan will lay the foundations for a positive future for cash access across the UK.”
Caroline Abrahams CBE, Age UK said “This is arguably the most promising development we’ve yet seen in ensuring that older people can continue to access cash, which so many of them rely on as an essential part of their everyday lives. It’s been great to be part of the Cash Action Group and we look forward to seeing the principles agreed by the Group translate into action across the country, and really starting to make a positive difference for many older people.”
John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said “Access to cash has ongoing importance to the daily lives of millions of people across the UK, and protecting it is a priority for myself and this Government. Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, I am pleased to see firms working together to develop new initiatives to support continued access to cash. This is a great start, and I look forward to seeing the impact of industry’s announcements for new and improved cash facilities in local communities across the UK.”
David Postings, Chief Executive, UK Finance said “The banking and finance industry is committed to maintaining access to cash for people who need it, when they need it. UK Finance is delighted to have played a key role in the work, which has led to today’s announcement of a collective commitment to meet the needs of both personal and business customers who rely on cash. With demand for cash projected to continue to decline, the way access to cash is provided will have to continue to evolve. This new approach, with an independent co-ordinating body at its heart, means that we now have a joined-up response to meeting communities’ cash needs well into the future.”
Nick Read, Group Chief Executive, Post Office said “The Post Office already plays a critical role in local communities, so we are very pleased to have partnered the banks in developing innovative solutions to meet community cash needs. I welcome today’s announcement and the results of the Community Access to Cash Pilots. It is very positive that the Post Office and banks continue to work together effectively to deal with such a fundamental issue. We look forward to working with the industry to develop our offer further – providing vital cash access services for millions of people.”
John Howells, Chief Executive, LINK said “Our relationship with cash is changing but the UK is not ready to be a cashless society and free access to cash remains vital for many consumers and communities. LINK is therefore delighted to take on such a key role working with the banks to ensure that the cash needs of communities continue to be met.”
