Call for more post office banking

The number of people using post offices could increase significantly if they could access their bank accounts through the postal network, says study
12 April 2012

The number of people using post offices could increase "significantly" if they could access their bank accounts through the postal network, a leading consumer group predicted.

Consumer Focus said the number of people using their local post office could jump from four million to 18 million if high street banks allowed their customers full access to personal bank accounts in post branches.

The 11,800-strong post office network, hit by closures in recent years, would be given a valuable "shot in the arm" if customers could make cash withdrawals, deposit cash and cheques and access information on their bank account, said the report.

Some banks offer services through the post office, but many do not provide the full range of transactions such as making a cash or cheque deposit, said Consumer Focus.

Spokesman Andy Burrows said: "Our research shows there is real consumer appetite to do everyday banking over the post office counter. Four out of five people were unaware they could access their account through a post office with two-fifths of this group telling us they would consider doing so if they knew it was possible.

"Thousands of UK communities have only one bank branch or even none at all, with more bank closures likely in the future. Better current account access at the post office would be a win-win situation - customers enjoy the convenience of more face-to-face counter access and the post office network benefits from greater footfall. This should help lead to a more sustainable future for the post office network which many people rely upon."

The study of more than 2,000 adults showed that half of those who accessed their current account at a post office rather than a bank found it easier, while a third complained that their bank had no branch in their area.

Consumer Focus said its study revealed low levels of awareness of banking access at post offices, with less than one in five of people able to bank at post offices knowing they could do so.

A spokesman for the British Bankers' Association said: "All the high street banks offer basic bank accounts that allow customers to withdraw money from the post office.

"Some banks have individual arrangements with the post office that enable customers with other types of account to use post office counters for their banking. This is a separate commercial arrangement made between those individual banks and the post office."

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