Britons turn to Post Office to get their hands on cash as bank branches continue to close – but they have to make do with a stripped-down service
- Brits use post office banking to get around banks shuttering branches
- But post offices are not a substitute for banks and provide a limited service
- Some banks don’t even let their customers use postal banking at all
Britons are turning to the post office to get their hands on their money, while bank branches across the country are still closed.
Consumers collected £836.21 million in cash from post offices in June, up 12.5 per cent in a year, the postal giant said this week.
Britons can do basic banking at post offices, under a deal to offset the impact of banks closing 5,632 branches since 2015.
The agreement means that banks pay the post office to provide a basic banking service.
Martin Kearsley, Banking Director for the Post Office, said: ‘These figures clearly show that Britain is anything but a cashless society and that people depend on cash as the tried and true way of running a budget.’
Shut up shop: Thousands of branches of banks and building societies are closed
However, post offices are not banks, so they allow up to four banking services: checking in money, withdrawing money, paying checks, and checking bank balances.
For everything else, customers must visit a bank branch. This includes money transfers, opening accounts or linked savings deals, printing bank statements, and resolving customer service issues that cannot be resolved with online banking.
Some banks don’t even offer their customers all four of the post office’s limited banking options.
For example, Nationwide customers cannot deposit cash or pay checks at a post office, while Metro and M&S Bank customers cannot use post office banking at all.
Members of smaller banks Starling Bank, Adam & Co and Handlesbanken are not allowed to pay with checks, while customers of Optimum Bank and Quidity can only pay in cash.
Andrew Hagger, founder of personal finance website Moneycomms, said the impact of the trend towards more post office banking was offset by falling standards when visiting a bank branch.
“The services you get in a bank branch are very different from five to 10 years ago,” Hagger said. ‘When you enter a branch, you are often referred to a vending machine. The post office is an extension [of using a bank branch] but it’s pretty average. It all depends on what you need – if you just need some cash or something, the post office is fine.’
A Nationwide spokesperson said: ‘Demand from our customers for other services through the post office remains low – the Society does not offer business banking where demand for cash or checks is higher.
‘Unlike many other providers, we continue to invest in branches because we know that customers appreciate face-to-face banking. Only recently did we renew our settlement pledge to not leave any municipality or city until at least 2026. As such, most of our customers will deposit money or deposit checks through their local branch.”
A spokesman for Metro Bank said: ‘It is important to note that many major banks are turning to the post office to fill gaps created by branch closures. Metro Bank is committed to its store network and has plans to open 11 more stores in the North of England by 2025.”