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Barclays bank cancels cashless plans following public fury

calendar iconOct 24, 2019

Source
In response to public outcry over a cashless policy within the UK's Post Office network, Barclays Bank has recently announced they are withdrawing the plan.

The bank announced in January 2019 that they had decided to stop customers from taking out cash from the Post Office network, but met 'fury' from the public. The policy was critiqued for being discriminatory, particularly against the 2 million people in the UK relying on cash. The UK's Treasury open consultation on curbing cash use, the Access to Cash review and the Which? campaign have all contributed to the growing conversations about the importance of keeping cash.

"Our decision provoked a great deal of public and private debate. We have listened very carefully to points that have been made to us by ministers in the government, by MPs, and by interested charities and consumer advocates,"
"Jes Staley, chief executiveBarclaysAs quoted by BBC (Oct 24, 2019)

Excerpt from BBC article

Earlier this month, the Post Office unveiled a new agreement, covering the three years from January and allowing for postmasters and post mistresses to be paid more to take in and dispense cash.

Barclays is the only one to exclude cash withdrawals from its part of the agreement.

This prompted serious concerns from those who have seen bank branches and ATM services disappear from local communities.

"It is vitally important that we have a model for the Post Office Banking Framework which is sustainable, now and in the future. We welcome Barclays' commitment to engage constructively on this so we can safeguard access to cash for everyone who needs it."
"John GlenEconomic secretary to the TreasuryAs quoted by BBC (Oct 24, 2019)

Barclays said it would launch a cashback scheme at small businesses in remote towns and areas where there is no branch or ATM alternative within 1km (0.6 miles), and promised to commit to keeping branches open in towns where there are no other options for two years.

That plan continues despite the latest u-turn.

Read more

Last Updated: Jan 12, 2024

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