UK Introduces Cash Access Rules
Aug 23, 2024
Banks and building societies will be held responsible for ensuring fair access to cash across the UK under new rules coming into effect 18 September. Any that fail to meet these responsibilities will be subject to fines, with biennial checks in place to review cash provision.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations will require lenders to assess and address lack of access to services such as branches and ATMs in local communities, with the aim of plugging the ‘significant gaps’ that currently exist. Companies falling short of the new framework will face ‘unlimited fines’.
The rules—covering the 14 largest high street lenders—require an assessment of cash access before any changes are made, with local residents and organisations able to request an assessment should they feel there are gaps in local cash facilities. They must ‘deliver reasonable additional cash services’ where these gaps occur, and keep facilities open until additional services are identified and made available.
Along with the Payment Systems Regulator, the Bank of England and the Treasury, we are committed to protecting access to cash—particularly for consumers in vulnerable circumstances who rely on it. This is part of our business plan commitment to put consumers' needs first and to ensure they can access the cash they need.
The FCA notes that these new powers ‘focus on access to cash rather than wider banking services’, meaning that they will not prevent bank branches from closing, but rather will ensure communities retain cash services that will meet their particular needs.
Sky News reports the FCA is not ‘unduly worried’ about present access to cash, with the Post Office network ‘filling much of the void’ left by branch and ATM closures, however it recognised the importance of acting to maintain that access and—ultimately—ensure people have a choice of payment options.
Three million people continue to rely on cash, even as digital payments become more popular. And many small businesses still need somewhere to safely deposit their takings each day. That's why we've acted quickly in response to new powers given to us by parliament to ensure reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposits is maintained.
Adrian Buckle, Head of Research at UK Finance—which recently noted a rise in the number of Brits mainly using cash for daily expenditure—adds that ‘there is a huge amount of choice available to consumers in terms of how they make payments’ and that, while debit cards and contactless are popular options, a cashless society is not on the horizon.
Mobile contactless payments are growing fast and one third of adults are now making these at least once a month... This doesn't mean we are on our way to becoming a cashless society. Cash is still the second most frequently used method of payment in the UK.