Money Mail –

As ever more bank branches close and shops stop taking notes and coins, a howl of rage from hundreds of Money Mail readers as they call on ministers to act before it’s too late...

MONEY MAIL readers today tell ministers loud and clear that laws are needed now to save our cash. We asked you to contribute to the Government’s crucial consultation on cash — and were overwhelmed by your response.

We have packaged up hundreds of your heartfelt letters and emails and sent them in a powerful dossier to the Treasury to ensure your voices are heard.

For years, campaigners have been warning about the decline of coins and notes and how the elderly and vulnerable risked being cut off from cash.

In the meantime, ATMs have been turned off, banks have continued to axe hundreds of branches, Post Offices are under threat and now shops are refusing to accept cash.

Your message to the Government was clear: we must not delay introducing laws to protect cash and those who rely on it.

Grandparents told us how they cherish giving pocket money to their grandchildren, while carers of those with learning disabilities say they could not get by without it.

Others in their 80s and 90s say they do not feel comfortable using cards at this stage of their lives.

Some of the most distressing letters came from people who have lost their local bank branch. They now face long car or bus journeys to the nearest bank, while the most vulnerable say they have been forced to rely on carers to access their own money.

It has been almost 18 months since Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged new laws to protect cash while millions still rely on it.

And last month the Government finally began consulting on new legislation to halt the endless stream of closures.

These may include giving the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the power to block banks from closing branches in communities which are dependent on them.

And nine in ten neighbourhoods could get the legal right to have somewhere to withdraw cash for free no more than 1km away.

But experts warn new laws could take at least two years to enforce — leaving scores of towns and villages at risk of becoming cash deserts.

BANK BRANCH BETRAYAL

MANY readers say bank branches are the only places they feel comfortable taking out cash. But more than 4,200 have shut for good since 2015 — with 801 closing since the first lockdown and another 103 set to go this year, says consumer group Which?

Under FCA guidelines, banks and building societies have to demonstrate that they have considered the impact axing a branch could have on their customers’ needs.

But there is nothing to stop them going ahead with a closure. And with many banks keen to save on overheads, they often plough ahead, blaming low footfall as more customers sign up for online banking.

Gill Harris, who cares for two sons with learning disabilities, has to drive more than 20 miles to visit her nearest Barclays branch. Steven, 52, and Richard, 50, cannot use cards and rely on coins and notes to pay for activities at their local day centre.

It used to take the former Barclays cashier just nine minutes to get to her nearest branch in Needham Market — five miles from her home in Claydon, Suffolk.

But the branch shut in 2014, forcing her to drive to the next nearest branch in Stowmarket, a 15-minute drive away.

Since that closed last month, Gill, 75, a widow, has to drive to Bury St Edmunds — a one-hour round trip. She says: ‘It makes me so angry — banks aren’t thinking of their customers, only profits.’

Ministers are consulting on giving the FCA powers which could include the ability to fine banks if they axe vital branches — in areas with few places residents can take out cash — or prevent closures.

It’s a proposal Jim Storey, 67, a trustee of the Lions Club of Fleet, supports. The club helps low-income residents in the Hampshire town.

Jim wrote to HSBC when he heard its branch was closing. It meant volunteers would have to drive ten miles away with up to £30,000 in cash after hosting events.

But Jim never got a reply and the branch closed in June.

He says: ‘If banks are no longer serving customers, then giving a watchdog the legal right to stop them is the only solution.’

Age UK, which campaigns for older people, is one of several charities calling for new laws to strengthen the FCA’s powers.

Director Caroline Abrahams says: ‘The tsunami of branch closures and rapid move towards online and mobile banking, has been detrimental to many older people’s financial independence. ‘The Government must

consider new legislation to protect people’s access to their money.’

A Barclays spokesman says it would be in touch with Gill to see how it could support her family.

HSBC says it is sorry if Jim did not receive a reply from the bank.

WITHDRAWAL OF THE ATMs

THOUSANDS of ATMs were closed during lockdown when the businesses they were based in or near closed their doors.

And just under 4,000 are yet to reopen, according to the UK’s largest ATM network Link.

And of the cash machines left, one in four charge a fee of up to £2 to make a withdrawal.

Link has committed to protecting free ATMs that are more than 1km away from somewhere else customers can access cash fee-free. But some readers say this is not enough. David Richardson, 77, lives in a Shropshire town with one bank branch, a Post Office and two ATMs. Sometimes, he is unable to take cash out of one ATM because it is empty. David, a retired IT worker, says: ‘It is obviously over used, so I would think that one free cash machine for every 1km of land would not be enough.’ And while cash machines in bank branches often allow customers to pay in notes, most ATMS do not.

PROTECT OUR POST OFFICES

COUNTLESS readers hailed their local Post Office as a safe and convenient place to access cash.Customers of most banks have been able to withdraw and deposit coins and notes there since 2017.

Around 95pc of the population lives within a mile of a Post Office, so most should have one within walking distance.

A retired nurse told us her Post Office in Stanton, a village near Bury St Edmunds, is ‘vital to all’.

Beryl, 76, says: ‘The Post Office is a valued service because so many of us rely on cash.’

However, the services provided at the Post Office rely on the banks to subsidise them, and in 2019 Barclays tried to pull out of its Banking Framework agreement.

It gave in to a hard-fought campaign by Money Mail and reversed the decision. However, the agreement remains voluntary.

TIME TO ACT IS RUNNING OUT

CASH use has been declining for some time, as more people rely on cards and contactless payments methods instead.

The pandemic accelerated this trend further, with many shops refusing to accept cash for fear of spreading the virus through contaminated notes and coins.

A Money Mail poll earlier this year found one in five shoppers had been barred from paying this way since non-essential retailers re-opened in April.

This is despite research published by the Bank of England last year stating that shoppers were at low risk of catching the virus from touching cash.

Many readers say they fear being left behind. Cliff Gilbert, 66, is the treasurer of his village hall in Gayton, Staffordshire.

He helps to run around 20 events each year, including pop-up cafes and community bar nights.

But as the hall has no broadband and a very poor mobile signal, Cliff and his colleagues are not able to process card payments.

‘The removal of cash as a payment option for the future would threaten the survival of our village hall,’ he writes.

Natalie Ceeney, author of the Access To Cash Review, says: ‘We know that between five and eight million people still need cash.

‘The infrastructure needed to support it is already starting to crumble.’ Last year, just 17pc of payments were made with cash, down from 35 pc in 2019.

The Treasury’s consultation on cash closes on September 23. But campaigners warn we need to make faster progress.

Ministers have known that Britain is at risk of sleepwalking into a cashless society since Ms Ceeney’s Access to Cash Review in 2019.

And Baroness (Ros) Altmann, a former pensions minister, says: ‘It is very unlikely that these laws will come into place for at least two years — that would be 2023 at the earliest. By then, many more bank branches may have closed down, so the Government should make sure we return to the cash access we have today and not how it will be then.’

James Murray, the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, says: ‘We know this kind of consultation has been needed for years, so why is the Government only starting it now?

‘Even as overall cash use declines, it will still be a vital means of payment for many people.’

A Treasury spokesman says: We know that cash remains vital for millions of people and we are committed to protecting access to cash across the UK.

‘That’s why we are consulting on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash.’