Australia: UK Must Avoid Same Cash Access Disaster!

What a timely story from Australia, highlighting how an Australian post office is “begging” the public to deposit cash to safeguard the ability of the post office to offer cash withdrawals. The last bank branch in Queenstown had closed the week before.

Timely because the Financial Conduct Authority is holding a review next week of what is happening to access to cash in the UK.

The PCA will be participating in the review.

The PCA highlighted at the time the likely consequences of the crass cash supply policy statement issued by HM Treasury in 2023, which carefully failed to mention ATMs, 24/7 or otherwise (ATMs deliver 90% + of the cash used by the British public) - and used the weasel word “reasonable” to define what level of cash service the British public deserve.

Just as our Chair Ron Delnevo highlighted in 2017 that thousands of ATMs would be lost, only to have the Bank of England claim Ron was “scaremongering”.

20,000 plus ATMs - nearly 40% of the entire UK free-to-use estate - have been lost since them.

The PcA has stated clearly in recent weeks that the gloves are now off in the battle to safeguard convenient 24/7 cash access and cash acceptance in EVERY community in the UK.

The British public are NOT going to suffer the same fate as the public in Australia, asked to rush to deposit cash, like blood donors after a major car accident.

Cash policy is well on its way to becoming a car-crash in the UK - BUT plans have been submitted to the UK Government and Regulators demonstrating how the wrecked car can be transformed into the Limo 40 million UK cash users deserve and safely - and conveniently- put on the road again.

AND THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.