72% of Brits say cash is an important consumer right with majority (57%) worried about bank branch closures – Post Office

• Almost three-in-four Brits believe cash is an important consumer right
• 70% of British small and medium size (SME) businesses see cash use as important to the future of the UK high street
• Events taking place in Post Office branches across the country to raise awareness of the issue and call on the general public to take action

‘Save Our Cash’ Day is being held in communities across the country today to raise awareness of the issues faced by the more than eight million people who say they would struggle to survive without cash[1].

New research from YouGov for Post Office has shown that 72% of British consumers believe that cash is an important consumer right. The majority (57%) are concerned about bank branch closures, with a third (33%) saying that they are personally affected by them. More than half (52%) agree that cash provides them with a sense of safety and security, and over a third (38%) say that without cash they would feel excluded or that there would be things that they could no longer do.

Save Our Cash Day comes at a time when accessing cash for free is becoming increasingly difficult. According to Which? research[2], 4,188 bank branches have closed since the start of 2015, a rate of approximately 50 per month. More than 500 more are earmarked for closure in 2021.

Majority of British SME businesses believe cash is important to UK high street’s future

A Post Office survey of more than 500 British SME businesses also shows that two thirds (66%) feel that cash use is important to the recovery of the UK retail industry from the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns and restrictions. Indeed, a third of consumers asked about this (32%) said that without cash they would be less likely to shop in their local community, a stark realisation when countless local businesses face the risk of closure post-COVID.

Just under a third (31%) of British SMEs say that their business has been directly affected by bank branch closures. Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) depend on their local Post Office branch for cash and banking services, such as depositing cash, making withdrawals and paying in cheques, and a fifth (20%) said they would be concerned about the safety and/or security of their business, without the ability to deposit cash at the end of the day.

The research found that 28% of SME businesses in Britain use physical cash at least weekly. Almost a quarter (24%) feel that their business would struggle without the ability to use cash and the same proportion believe that if they did not accept cash, many of their customers may not use their goods or services.

Nick Read, Chief Executive at the Post Office, said:

“Ensuring everyone in every community continues to have free access to cash is fundamental to the nation’s economic and social wellbeing. We cannot forget those across the country who continue to rely on it – from the millions of small businesses to ordinary people who use cash to budget, save and survive. With ‘Save Our Cash Day’, the Post Office is calling on Government to speed up the delivery of the necessary legislative and regulatory frameworks which must underpin the long-term future of the cash system. Banks should be required, by law, to provide their customers free access to cash and cash services irrespective of where they happen to live or work. Anything short of legislation will fail the millions who continue to depend on it day-to-day.”

Save Our Cash Day: take part in local communities

The Post Office is hosting events in various locations across its network today and this weekend, with customers visiting their local Post Offices welcome to speak to their postmaster about the cash services Post Office provides for some of the most vulnerable people in their local communities.

People are also able to find out more online at www.SaveOurCash.co.uk, where they can hear the real stories of people reliant on cash and learn more about how cash plays such a pivotal role in their lives. Post Office is calling on as many people as possible to write to their MP to support policies and legislation that protect cash and place an obligation on the banks to guarantee access to cash across the UK.

The Post Office network operates more than 11,500 branches, with 99% of the population living within three miles of a Post Office. On average, over £2 billion of cash is withdrawn and deposited per month at Post Office branches. Annual volumes of cash withdrawals via Post Office counters have grown by 46%, to £7.8 billion since the start of the Banking Framework in 2017, and cash deposits have increased by 110% to £22.1 billion in the same period.