🐂 Not all bull runs are created equal. November’s AI picks include 5 stocks up +20% eachUnlock Stocks

Britain sets out safeguards for accessing cash in digital age

Published 09/12/2023, 00:08
Updated 09/12/2023, 00:11
© Reuters. A gold coloured ATM is seen as it commemorates the location of the world's first cash machine installed in 1967 outside a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, London Britain November 15, 2017. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
HSBA
-
BARC
-
LLOY
-
NWG
-

By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's banks and building societies should make sure customers can still access cash before closing a branch as more financial services move online, the country's markets regulator proposed on Thursday.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was using powers under a new financial services law approved earlier this year to require banks, such as Barclays (LON:BARC), Lloyds (LON:LLOY), HSBC (LON:HSBA) and NatWest (LON:NWG) to undertake "cash access assessments" when they are considering closing a branch.

Britain is also likely to issue a digital version of the pound in the second half of the decade, raising fears that cash will be even harder to use as some shops already insist on cards for payments.

"We know that, while there is an increasing shift to digital payments, over 3 million consumers still rely on cash – particularly people who may be vulnerable – as well as many small businesses," said Sheldon Mills, the FCA's executive director of consumers and competition.

"These proposals set out how banks and building societies will need to assess and plug gaps in local cash provision. This will help manage the pace of change and ensure that people can continue to access cash if they need it," Mills said.

In the first quarter of this year, 95.1% of the UK population was within a mile of a free-to-use cash withdrawal point, the FCA said.

Separately, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Thursday that last year cash was used for 19% of purchases at its members, who are mostly large chains that account for just over a third of UK retail spending.

© Reuters. A gold coloured ATM is seen as it commemorates the location of the world's first cash machine installed in 1967 outside a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, London Britain November 15, 2017. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo

The proportion of cash transactions rose last year for the first time in a decade, after falling to a low of 15% in 2021 when pandemic restrictions encouraging the use of contactless card payments were still in place, the BRC said.

The FCA said that existing law allowed retailers to decide whether to accept cash or not, and that it would finalise its new rules by the third quarter of 2024.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.