Post Office network ‘should take place of closing-down banks’

MILLIONS more people would use post offices if they could access their bank accounts through the postal networks, a leading consumer group says.

In a new report, Consumer Focus said the post offices had the potential to become “neighbourhood banks” particularly in rural areas, at a time when bank branches were closing

It said at present four million customers access their current accounts through the 11,800-strong post office network, but there is potential to increase that number to 18 million.

The service would allow customers to make withdrawals, deposit cash and cheques and access information on their account balance at the Post Office.

The report pointed out that one-fifth of banks and building societies – 2,213 branches – have closed since 2007 and more than a third – 35 per cent – have shut over the past 15 years.

According to the Campaign for Community Banking Services, almost 1,000 communities in the UK are now “banking deserts”, having lost the last bank branch in their area.

Royal Bank of Scotland is due to allow customers to start making withdrawals at the Post Office and this will mean almost 80 per cent of current account holders will be able to withdraw money, free, at post offices.

However, HSBC and Santander customers remain unable to undertake any transactions over the post office counter. Consumer Focus said in rural areas, where provision of ATMs (automated teller machines) is poor, access to over-the-counter banking, including through the post office, remains critically important as customers may have to travel several miles to access their cash.

Andy Burrows, post office expert at Consumer Focus, said: “Our research shows there is real consumer appetite to do everyday banking over the post office counter.

“Thousands of UK communities have only one bank branch or even none at all, with more bank closures likely in the future. Better current account access at the Post Office would be a win-win situation – customers enjoy the convenience of more face-to-face counter access and the post office network benefits from greater footfall.

“This should help lead to a more sustainable future for the post office network which many people rely upon.”

The study of more than 2,000 adults in the UK showed half of those who accessed their current account at a post office rather than a bank found it easier, while a third complained that their bank had no branch in their area.

Kevin Waddington, north of Scotland branch secretary for the Federation of Sub-postmasters, runs a post office in Kiltarlity, near Inverness, where the nearest ATM is five miles away.He said: “Access to bank accounts is free over the post office counter and is an incentive for people to use it. If they could use it they would use it.”

Postal affairs minister Edward Davey “strongly welcomed” the report’s findings.