At last, banks must give you access to your cash… by law

The government has agreed to legislate a requirement for banks to provide customers with easy and free access to cash in the high street.

The move comes against the backdrop of hundreds of bank branch closures since the beginning of last year – and a sharp long-term decline in the number of free-to-use ATMs.

Reduced access to cash or a bank makes it difficult for money-dependent people – especially the elderly – to go about their daily lives, whether banking or shopping.

The move represents a major victory for the MoS, which has championed consumers’ right to access cash nationwide. We have campaigned vehemently against bank closures, especially when they turn a community into a banking desert.

We also helped get banks to agree to fund new-style banking hubs in communities that lost their last bank. These hubs provide banking services for all customers – corporate and private – of the country’s largest banks.

“Well done MoS,” said Baroness Ros Altmann on Friday. It was Altmann, prompted by the consumer group Which?, who persuaded the government to tighten legislation passing through parliament to pave the way for ‘minimum levels of free access to cash’. She was supported by Life Peers from all three major political parties.

While the amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill is unlikely to stop bank branch and ATM closures, it should mean that every high street will now allow consumers to withdraw cash for free. This is likely through a free-to-use ATM, bank branch, hub, post office, or even a cashback service offered by a local retailer.

“It’s great news and it’s about time we recognized the role cash plays in many people’s lives,” says Altmann.

Government figures confirm that more than two million over-70s do not have access to the internet. This means that they cannot bank online and are dependent on the high street.

In the past 15 months, the major banks have closed or announced their intention to close nearly 900 branches, bringing the number remaining to about 5,000.

While the number of free-to-use ATMs fell by only four percent last year, more than 15,000 ATMs have been removed from high streets in the past five years.

Which? says that without Altmann’s amendment, the purpose of the new legislation – to protect access to cash – would have been undermined, as large numbers of free-to-use ATMs were closed or replaced with fee-charging machines.

It adds: ‘Free access to cash is important for people on lower incomes, as some ATMs charge up to £2.’

Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, says: “Whether buying everyday necessities or tracking expenses during the cost of living crisis, cash is important to millions of consumers.

“With bank branches and ATMs closing at a rapid pace, those who are not yet ready or able to make the transition to digital payments should not be left behind. We have campaigned to ensure that laws protect free access to cash and we are pleased that the government agrees that people will not have to pay fees to access their own money.”

John Howells, CEO of ATM network Link, agrees. The tightening of the legislation, he says, is a big step forward.

Link has already had to protect 3,400 free-to-use ATMs that would have been shut down. In a deal with the banks, it has recommended more than 100 banking hubs in communities where all branches have been abolished.

The task of opening them is in the hands of Cash Access UK, financed by the banks. Only a handful have opened so far, the latest in Troon, South Ayrshire.

Howells says, “At least five million people depend on cash and while its use is declining, we need to protect access to it.”

Shadow City minister Tulip Siddiq said: “If the government is serious about ensuring no one is cut off from the services they need, it needs to go further and adopt Labour’s policy of protecting personal banking services.”