Ten other areas were previously identified, but the doors have yet to open on any of their new hubs.
Ministers have prepared legislation to ensure people can access cash locally.
“Cash is disappearing at a frightening rate, and so are ATMs and branches and it is not acceptable to leave communities without access to cash,” John Howells, chief executive of Link - which is the biggest interbank network in the UK - told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“There is real investment and effort going in by the banks now…But now that pace needs to be picked up,” he added.
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At these hubs, run by the Post Office, customers of any bank can access their accounts, deposit cash and cheques, and withdraw money at any time.
Presumably “any bank” doesn’t include Monzo, at least for deposits of cash and cheques.
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Any bank which might have previously had branches in the town was presumably what they meant.
I’m still a bit baffled by these branches. Other than see a representative from the bank if I happen to go in on the right day, what do they offer that a normal Post Office doesn’t?
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Presumably little more than someone having to put up with/offer more platitudes around ear chewing about giro slips, how terrible it is that the branch shut, how someone just “prefers cash/“real” hoomans than a normal post office worker would.
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Can you send parcels still? Is it literally just a branding thing?
And in latest news….
For my own part, the use of physical cash is now so infrequent, I actually sigh if any of it lands in my hands. I was in my local supermarket the other day and I picked up a reduced price item which after checking my receipt following card payment, I discovered I’d been charged full price for it. I had to go to customer services who then refunded in cash because for some odd reason they couldn’t refund it back to my card. I was quite frankly livid, stuck with rotten stinking germ covered money I’ve now got to make an effort to get rid of. Can you tell I hate cash? 
On another note, I also now once a week, have to bank the limited amount of cash some customers hand over at the store I work at. It means a trip to the Barclays branch in the centre of town. It’s hardly surprising banks are closing down because I can walk in and literally immediately pay in because there’s no customers. This is in a largish busy seaside town.
I personally rarely ever use the Post Office for anything at all, just the occasional important letter or package that requires recorded/signed for delivery. I’ve certainly not paid any cash in to any accounts I hold.
I guess for some, the Post Office is or will become a lifeline. As for physical cash itself, I’d rather just see it disappear altogether, but sadly it will probably still be around for another hundred years.
Cash will only account for 6% of transactions by 2031
That still seems quite high to me. I’m sticking to the predicted death of cash by 2026.
Depends what is defined as a transaction. If each time anyone places a 2p piece in a coin pusher is considered an individual transaction, I guess that could be a chunk all of its own…
Tipping and seaside arcades are the only places I use cash now. Even in the case of the latter their change machines will often let you withdraw from a debit card since the pandemic.
I saw this and it baffled me a bit. What’s in it for Barclays? Are they hoping small retailers will select them as their merchant banking partner in order to offer this to their customers?
The article explains that it’s only for retailers who already have a Barclays payment terminal, so they will already be making money from the retailer.
I doubt it will cost very much to set up or operate this scheme
It might make it easier to remove ATMs
Shops might be keen to offload the cash (so they don’t have to count it, secure it, or bank it at the end of the day) so it might just be a service that their customers want
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On the flip side, people emptying their cash drawers could end up with businesses not being able to take larger cash payments without emptying their till of all notes in the process
Allows them to skirt some of LINKs remit into cash access reviews - Barclays can tally up their (likely vast) network of merchants in the area and say “customers still can access cash”
Presumably the retailer just says they don’t have enough cash, like a Cash Machine would do?
? No because they’d have enough cash, they just wouldn’t actually be able to give it without emptying their notes for change. I guess if enough customers paid cash it would work alright though
I’m not entirely clear what you mean.
Customer walks in and asks to withdraw £30.
If you’re saying they wouldn’t have enough cash to be able to change up notes from customers coming in, they say “sorry, I don’t have enough cash”.
If they have a drawer full of change but no notes, they say “I can do it but it’ll all be in coins”. Customer then says “OK” or “no thanks”.
Just needs the shopkeeper to be aware of roughly how what’s in their drawer, which anyone who’s worked on a till will tell you is part of the job.
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If someone were going to ask to withdraw £10+ in coins it would be a blanket no, since it would screw with the till float
Have you worked with a till before? There are definitively situations where the answer isn’t “I don’t have the cash to give you” but is instead “sorry, I need the cash there”; the people don’t like being lied to is also something to remember
No it wouldn’t. Why would it? Till software does not keep track of how many individual coins and notes it has; if it did the operator would have to key in every coin and/or note tendered and returned in change.
More recent self checkouts do but they’re not in scope for this (nor cashback).
Yes.
“I don’t have enough cash” isn’t a lie in that scenario. This used to happen quite a bit when you’d open the shop and have someone who early on wanted cashback. I can assure you not one of them demanded to see my till cassette, and I’d probably have called security over if they did.
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