Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, comments on the FCA’s plans for access to cash amid bank and ATM closures:
“The FCA has fired a warning shot to banks thinking about shutting more branches and charging for ATMS as a money-saving measure following the Corona-crisis. Under the planned rules banks would have to tell the regulator before they close a branch or ATM, give customers at least three months’ notice and also show how they are providing alternatives for customers who need access to cash.
“People still reliant on cash have faced ever-decreasing options as bank branches and ATMs have been shut in their droves in recent years. In total more than 3,500 branches have closed* over the past five years, averaging 55 branches a month, as banks look for easy ways to cut costs. Some areas of the UK have been left as a cash desert, with people having to drive miles in order to be able to get cash out – not an option for the oldest or most vulnerable in society.
“With this scale of closures as the background it might feel like the horse has already bolted before the regulator took action, but clearly the FCA thinks that banks looking to make cost savings as a result of the Covid-19 crisis could shut yet more branches – cutting off even more people from cash. Many might dismiss cash usage as a thing of the past but the FCA’s own research shows one in 10 people wouldn’t know how to cope without cash, and the most vulnerable in the UK are more likely to struggle in a cashless society.”
*Based on Which? data.
