Proactive Investors - Nigel Farage has taken aim at Natwest (LON:NWG) again, this time over the new measures from the bank itself the authority to impose limits on cash deposits and withdrawals.
The move, set to take effect on September 11, enables the bank to establish daily and annual cash withdrawal and deposit limits, ostensibly to counter fraud risks.
Farage has been criticising Natwest almost daily ever since its subsidiary Coutts shut down the former UKIP’s leader's accounts for political reasons.
In teh fallout, Alison Rose had to resign as chief executive after briefing a BBC journalist that Farage’s accounts had been closed due to a lack of funds, something later proved to be not true.
An investigation is now underway by UK financial regulator, the FCA, into how and why banks close bank accounts.
Referring to NatWest, Farage said it was “deeply worrying that banks are now granting themselves sweeping powers to limit their customers’ use of cash”.
“The wider de-banking scandal I have uncovered has already demonstrated that banks cannot be trusted to wield such power responsibly, given the way they have closed people’s accounts purely because of the political views they hold,” he told The Telegraph.
Tory MPs echoed Farage’s concerns that Natwest’s action is part of a broader trend towards a cashless society and will disproportionately affect vulnerable individuals who rely on physical money.
The bank claims these changes are driven by the need to combat financial crime while denying any intention to curtail customers' cash access.
At present, current account holders are allowed to take up to £750 out from a cash machine, or up to £20,000 out of a branch without notifying their branch in advance.
The bank insisted it is fully committed to access to cash, pointing out it has introduced measures such as a scheme to post cash directly to vulnerable customers.
The new regulations, which were first announced in June, will be overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority,