News
Post Offices' Fast-Growing 'Lifeline’ Role Supporting Communities - Committee Hears of Soaring Cash Deposits and Withdrawals at POs
Gordon MP Richard Thomson has seized on evidence from the Scottish Affairs Committee in Westminster which heard from senior Post Office management that the use of Post Offices for cash withdrawals and deposits has soared in Scotland over the past two years citing it as further evidence of the lifeline role that Post Offices play in local communities.
Director of Banking at the Post Office, Martin Kearsley, told the committee that cash withdrawals and deposits have increased by 11 per cent year-on-year in Scotland over the past two years.
Commenting, Richard Thomson MP said:
“Ensuring communities have access to cash is becoming increasingly important, despite the move to contactless payments. Studies have shown that cash withdrawn in a community tends to stay within that community, benefitting local businesses and traders where cash transactions can be critical.
“The wholesale closure of bank branches and withdrawal of ATM services which usually accompanies that increases pressure on those who by preference or circumstance use cash and, by extension, the local economy.
“The fact that the Post Office in Scotland has experienced an 11 per cent increase in the depositing and withdrawal of cash year-on-year for the past two years is a result of bank closures but also underlines just how important preserving the local Post Office network really is.
“As the importance of the Post Office network increases, it’s vital that this lifeline role is preserved and enhanced.”
Back to All News