Payment Choice Alliance - Latest News Feed

Post Office Banking Access Research Confirms Payment Choice Alliance Research Findings.

This is an excellent piece of research by Post Office Ltd.

The Payment Choice Alliance research, carried out by YouGov, largely supports the Post Office figures.

For example, 68% of respondents told the Post Office that they wanted in-person banking services to be available close to home.

The figure from the YouGov research for the Payment Choice Alliance was 76%.

It is absolutely clear what the UK public WANTS by way of access to banking services. The question?

Can Richard Lloyd OBE, who is the Chair of the on-going HM Treasury Access to Banking Services Review, ensure the UK public get what they WANT.

If Richard is too constrained by the limited scope that HM Treasury has imposed on his Review, he should make that very clear and walk away, if HM Treasury refuse to allow him to deliver EVERYTHING the UK public WANTS.

Source: corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/purpose-strategy/research-reports/access-to-banking-review

Modernising The Few Remaining Bank Branches Is NOT Enough!

This is a post about innovation at one of the remaining Lloyds Bank branches in Birmingham.

And “the remaining” is the crux of the issue.

There has been no shortage of innovations - including in relation to cash and ATMs - the “Big Five” UK banks COULD have introduced when they had networks of branches properly covering the country and serving the British public.

BUT the banks didn’t want to make innovations at that stage.

They wanted to close branches, rip out ATMs and eventually impose “cashless” - so why would the banks have wanted branches and ATMs to be more useful to the British public?

Just one example is cash deposit/recycling ATMs.

For many years, EVERY ATM in Japan has accepted cash deposits and efficiently recycled the cash, allowing it to be withdrawn by customers.

Banks in many other countries have introduced this service.

Very few ATMs in the UK utilise this readily available technology.

Branch innovation at the few remaining Big Five bank branches in the UK, whilst welcome, has limited value.

What the British public need to see is a minimum of 1200 Banking Hubs - covering every UK community with 5000 or more residents - fully fitted with all the latest 24/7 cash deposit, recycling and withdrawal equipment AND offering genuine face-to-face banking advice services.

That’s what we will be telling Richard Lloyd and his “Access to Banking Services Review”. We know the current HM Treasury team don’t want to hear this obvious truth - but they will be gone even before Richard submits his report.

However, the new Prime Minister will be VERY interested in what Richard has to say..

AND - OF COURSE - THE PAYMENT CHOICE ALLIANCE WILL STILL BE HERE, READY TO TALK TO ANDY BURNHAM, WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GOOD LISTENER.

Source: lloydsbankinggroup.com/media/press-releases/2026/lloyds/new-look-lloyds-branch-birmingham-1-million-investment.html

Sinking Cornwall Council Punish Cash Users.

A terrible decision by Cornwall Council, which, according to AI, makes £ millions every year from car parking.

The Council claims it costs them £100,000 a year to process the cash from 138 car parks.

Thats only £750 per car park per year - or around £2 per day.

So Cornwall Council are prepared to exclude cash users - who the Council says make up at least 10% of total users - from 95 car parks to save around £2 per day per car park.

To put it another way, Cornwall Council charge between £1 and £2.50 per hour for car parking, so they say they will save the equivalent of around one car parking for one hour per car park per day.

Or looking at the decision in another context, Cornwall Council has a total expenditure of £1.2 Billion each year. What thy claim they will save via banning cash from 95 car parks is a mere drop in the Atlantic Ocean that laps at the counties shores.

So any way one looks at it, the amount Cornwall Council say they will save by NOT accepting cash at 95 car parks is insignificant.

However, the harsh reality is that Cornwall Council are not very good at budgeting. They have the 12th biggest debt - over £1.3 Billion - of the nearly 400 local authorities in the UK.

Cornwall Council are sinking in an ocean of debt of their own making.

Cash users are being made to pay - or rather, being STOPPED from paying - for the failures of Cornwall Council in managing their huge overall budget.

Those presumably guiding Cornwall Council to take this terrible decision are Leigh Frost, the Liberal Democrats Leader of the Council, and Kate Kennally, CEO of the Council.

Leigh and Kate can either guide Cornwall Council to reverse this awful decision of their own volition - surely the moral high ground - or they can wait for national legislation to become law, obliging them to accept cash at their car parks.

Their choice - for now.

Source: falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/26269393.car-parks-cornwall-will-still-accept-cash-park

Sweden Effectively Bans “Cashless”!

Very strange headline from the Swedish Herald.

In fact, of the 800 stores operated by Coop Sweden, 799 now ACCEPT cash! This is thanks to a law that came into force on 1 July 2026 that compels grocery stores and pharmacies in Sweden to accept cash.

The law is a HUGE step in Sweden, which was supposed to be “cashless” by now. Well done to the Swedish Central Bank - Sveriges riksbank - for strongly supporting cash, in the interests of national security, resilience, inclusion and choice, “must haves” for any society worth the name.

And also a hearty “well done!” to the Swedish Government for having the strength, shared with the Central Bank, to see this through.

The law passed in Sweden is not perfect - it will need to be strengthened- BUT it is an excellent start.

In the newspaper article, reference is made to “most people” preferring to use cards and digital methods, as if such a preference was inevitable in Sweden.

In fact, just as in the UK, it was the Swedish banks that tried to impose “cashless” on the public.

They did this by dramatically reducing access to cash via 24/7 ATMs.

In 2010, five major Swedish banks created Bankomat AB, a utility set-up to operate ATMs for those banks under the one brand.

What it quickly meant was that NO Swedish bank branch operated by the Bankomat AB owners had an ATM.

In fact, since Bankomat AB was founded, the number of locations in Sweden enjoying ATM services has been reduced to only around 20% of the pre-Bankomat level.

To help their quest to impose “cashless” along, the same banks that had founded Bankomat stopped offering cash withdrawals - including change for shop till floats - and deposits at branch counters.

So Swedish bank branches had NO ATMs or ANY cash services at counters.

Do you now understand why the Swedish public supposedly “prefer” cards and digital payments?

What CHOICE did they REALLY have?

Once again, however, plaudits to Sveriges riksbank and the Swedish Government. Swedish banks have now been instructed to reintroduce cash withdrawal and deposit services at their bank branches.

The Swedish Central Bank and Government are also urging the public to both keep some cash at home - to provide resilience in “emergencies” such as IT failures - and to actually again use cash in shops, as the lead their daily lives.

Put succinctly?

The banks have LOST - and the Swedish public have WON.

Sweden will NOT go “cashless” - Payment Choice is definitely alive and getting well again! Meantime in the UK?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, HM Treasury, Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator all KNOW about Sweden AND every one of the UK’s other neighbours - including Jersey - that have acted to guarantee cash acceptance.

Why do they know?

BECAUSE THE PAYMENT CHOICE ALLIANCE HAS TOLD THEM.

Soon, a new Prime Minister will be in Downing Street, one who understands that the British public must WIN, in the same way as the public in Sweden AND France AND Spain - AND even Jersey - have WON.

Source: swedenherald.com/article/despite-swedens-new-cash-law-some-grocery-stores-still-refuse-cash

“Cashless”? Revolting In The Scottish Highlands - And ANYWHERE Else!

More brilliant in depth reporting in The Herald Scotland from Martin Williams.

Most Scots want “cashless” almost as much as they want England to win the FIFA World Cup 2026™ - Canada, Mexico and the United States !

But it’s seemingly not about what the Scottish public WANT and NEED - it’s about what the big banks, now controlled from London, can be bothered to provide.

Until 2016, a community such as the lovely Edzell in Angus - population 800 - merited a Bank of Scotland branch and an ATM.

Ten years later, there are only TWO Bank of Scotland branches in the whole of Angus, pretending to service the cash and face-to-face banking needs of 115,000 Angus residents. Who do the Bank of Scotland - and their partners in creating Scottish bank and 24/ 7 ATM deserts Royal Bank of Scotland - think they are kidding?

The YouGov survey quoted in the survey revealed that the vast majority of Scots want to be able to use cash; have 24/7 ATMs available locally; and be able to drop into a community physical bank branch to get face-to-face advice.

The Payment Choice Alliance has made clear that every community in Scotland - and, indeed, around the UK - with 5000 or more residents must have a Banking Hub, fitted with 24/7 ATMs and able to provide full face-to-face financial services advice, 6 days per week.

This means the UK requires a minimum of 1200 full service Banking Hubs.

In addition, an entirely independent appeals body should be set-up - NOT LINK Scheme Ltd OR Cash Access UK, which are both controlled by the banks - to allow communities with fewer than 5000 residents to make their case for having a Banking Hub. Decisions should be speedy, with “YES” favoured as an outcome.

Richard Lloyd OBE, Chair of the HM Treasury Access to Banking Services Review, must be delighted. There is so much good he can do to help the public in Scotland and around the UK.

We wish Richard well with his vital work.

Source: heraldscotland.com/comments/26217733

Ron Delnevo talks to James Cannon about bank branch closures on BBC Radio Surrey

Ron Delnevo talks to James Cameron on BBC Radio Surrey about disgraceful bank branch closures - and tells James what the British public can do about it!

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=zFb0FUIKG2U

24/7 Free-To-Use ATMs A MUST In EVERY Community - And In ALL The Required 1200 Banking Hubs!

The pressure builds on Scotlands two dismal banks - Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland - and on LINK Scheme Ltd, whose attempts to defend the indefensible are, quite frankly, pathetic.

This is a brilliant in depth report by Martin Williams - Scotlands Financial/Business Journalist of the Year - in the The Herald Scotland, with invaluable insights from Adam Stachura at Age Scotland.

The Scottish Banks are trying to dodge their responsibilities to the Scottish public - their CUSTOMERS - and are leaving it to other organisations, such as Post Office Ltd and Mutuals like Nationwide Building Society, to save communities around Scotland.

IT IS A DISGRACE.

Some gent from LINK Scheme Ltd has the cheek to say “If any community thinks it has a problem, it can contact LINK directly and we can take a closer look."

Why the hell should the public have to appeal to LINK Scheme Ltd?

If LINK Scheme Ltd can’t see the problems throughout Scotland themselves, they are NOT competent to meet the cash needs of the Scottish - OR UK - public.

The Payment Choice Alliance YouGov survey has revealed that the vast majority of UK adults completely reject the idea that post office counters - and, by implication , Banking Hubs without ATMs - can provide them with convenient access to cash in their local communities.

24/7 ATMs are what the public WANT and NEED.

LINK Scheme Ltd has overseen the ripping out of over 40% of the UKs free-to-use 24/7 ATMs - over 20,000 ATMs - in recent years.

That decimination of ATM services and convenient cash access has directly led to a reduction in cash use, which LINK Scheme Ltd would have us believe is a “natural phenomenon”…

The Scottish - and UK - public have had enough of the prevarication and procrastination.

They WILL retain 24/7 ATM cash access in EVERY community AND they WILL get the minimum of 1200 Bankimg Hubs - with 24/7 ATMs and full face-to-face banking advice services - required to replace the 7000 plus UK bank branches lost since 2015 alone.

WE STAND WITH THE PUBLIC.

Source: heraldscotland.com/news/26171439.calls-protect-cash-scotland-loses-banks-atms

New Survey Confirms 76% Of UK Public View Local Bank Branches As Important!

An excellent article by Zoe Wood in the The Guardian.

As the Payment Choice Alliance has highlighted before, Lloyds Bank has been particularly active in destroying genuine face-to-face customer service by closing their branches. Surrey outside the M25 has lost at least 11 Lloyds Bank in recent years, with only three remaining - and the branch in Camberley has probably only been kept because it also services customers from the immediately neighbouring counties of Berkshire and Hampshire…

As the article notes, Banking Hubs COULD replace lost bank branches - but NOT if there are only going to be 350 of them, the paltry number promised by 2029.

The Payment Choice Alliance has confirmed that there needs to be a minimum of 1200 fully equipped Banking Hubs, open 6 days a week, all with 24/7 cash access via ATMs - and with full face-to-face financial services advice from staff trained in all the matters of concern to the public.

The current “one banker a day” from each major bank is a pretence of providing genuine face-to-face banking.

The Payment Choice Alliance YouGov survey mentioned in the article found that over 50% of UK adults want to enjoy the choice of having ALL their banking needs provided for in a local branch - that’s over 30 MILLION PEOPLE - and over 70% want to be able to do at least some of their financial services business in a local branch.

We will be sharing our survey findings with Richard Lloyd OBE, Chair of the Access to Banking review, who is carrying out his work on behalf of HM Treasury.

What the UK public WANT and NEED is being ignored by the so-called High Street Banks -that MUST change, starting NOW, in 2026.

Source: theguardian.com/money/2026/jun/06/bank-customers-closures-app-branches-high-street

At Last - Although A Decade Late - A Welcome Investigation Into The UK Community Banking Crisis.

Our Chair Ron Delnevo had a good discussion about banking with Henry Reilly on London Broadcasting Company - or LBC, if you prefer!

Henry and Ron were discussing HM Treasury appointing Richard Lloyd OBE to investigate the negative impact of bank branch closures and to recommend remedies.

The Payment Choice Alliance welcomes this initiative, though convinced that it is more than a little late.

Two bank branches have been lost to the British public every single day since 2015. Investigating the POTENTIAL impact should have been done BEFORE the banks started their massive closure programmes.

Anyway, Ron told Henry yesterday that he had informed the Treasury several years ago that a MINIMUM of 1200 fully-equipped Banking Hubs would be required, NOT the mere 350 currently promised by 2029.

1200 Banking Hubs would basically cover every community in the UK with 5000 or more residents that has been left without a bank branch.

By “fully equipped”, we mean Banking Hubs MUST have 24/7 ATMs - 95% + currently don’t - and comprehensive face-to-face banking advice covering, at a minimum:

Life Milestones & Borrowing
Financial Difficulty
Estate Administration
Security & Fraud
Account Administration

Ron told Henry that Richard Lloyd OBE was being given less than six months to talk to a huge number of people and to examine the impact of the lack of bank branches on thousands of communities.

The Payment Choice wishes Richard Lloyd OBE well in his very difficult assignment - and, of course, looks forward to giving him invaluable input.

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=iRh7Y9U3d3o

EVERY Community Needs 24/7 Access To Cash!

With bank branches disappearing at the rate of two a day for the last ten years - and ATMs being ripped out even faster - retailers are becoming more important than ever in supplying cash to the British public.

And no retailer is more important than Tesco.

Tesco now have more branches than the total operated by the UK’s Big Five banks. And most of those Tesco’s branches have busy ATMs, machines which may soon be delivering 20% of ALL the cash used by the British public as they live their daily lives.

And the GREAT news?

THEY ARE ALL FREE TO USE.

Many communities now have Tesco stores but no bank branches. Some of the cash issued to the public by Tesco ATMs of course gets spent in their own stores but, in communities up and down the UK, a lot of that cash circulates to ALL the local businesses. Prosperity for all, due to the presence of a Tesco 24/7 ATM, delivering cash to the British public, where and when they want it.

And this is what EVERY community in the UK MUST have - 24/7 convenient access to cash!

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=vJnkZ1AoSMg