Barclays must axe its Post Office cash ban, says Leadsom
TWO ministers last night ordered Barclays to reverse its decision to stop savers withdrawing their cash from post offices.
Customers have accused the bank of being ‘tin- eared’ after it refused to budge despite a deluge of criticism.
Kelly Tolhurst, the Post Office minister, hailed the Daily Mail’s campaign to Save Our Local Post Offices. She said that she and Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom had ordered the bank to backtrack in a private meeting and a formal telephone call.
Mrs Leadsom brought up the subject in a meeting about small business finance. Miss Tolhurst personally phoned Matt Hammerstein, UK chief executive of Barclays.
The bank said it would not comment on ‘private conversations’.
The intervention at the highest level of government comes after the Mail highlighted how thousands of Barclays customers faced being left without access to cash.
On Thursday, 124 MPs accused the bank of abandoning its most vulnerable customers and adding to the ‘cash crisis’. This newspaper has received scores of emails and letters of protest, and 11,000 more have signed an online petition demanding that Barclays performs a U-turn.
The bank’s top bosses face being hauled in front of a public inquiry after concerns were raised about the impact the decision would have on benefits claimants.
Last year, Barclays customers made 15 million cash withdrawals through the Post Office network, and deposited cash five million times. The ban will come into operation in January, forcing customers to use local cashback services, new banking ‘pods’ or a special cheque-cashing service.
Miss Tolhurst said: ‘Barclays’ decision is really disappointing. I had an official call with the chief executive Matt Hammerstein to probe further and get him to change his decision.
‘This is something I’ve been raising with all the banks over a period of time. I expect them to support the Post Office and postmasters to deliver a vital service. The secretary of state is as disappointed as I am with the decision. I’m really thankful for the campaign the Daily Mail has run.
‘The best way for Barclays customers to get hold of cash if there is not a bank available is via the post office.’
Former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann, who campaigns for the elderly, said: ‘I’m delighted that Andrea Leadsom and any other ministers are pressuring Barclays.
‘I find it really astonishing that Barclays is refusing to accept it has any responsibility here. It is trying to pretend that it is not going to affect people, when clearly it is.
‘Banks shouldn’t just continuously cut the amount of service they offer in pursuit of short-term profits. They’re creating unnecessary inconvenience, cost and distress.’
It is thought the decision will save Barclays, which makes annual profits of £3.5billion, just £7million a year.
In the last four years, more than 3,300 high street bank and building society branches have closed their doors. At least 481 were owned by Barclays, Which? magazine found.
The consumer group has called on the Government to legislate to protect cash for elderly and vulnerable communities, after a report found eight million people would struggle in a cashless society.
Barclays’ decision has also left a cloud over the 11,500strong Post Office network in case other banks follow suit.
The Post Office hoped basic banking services would be a boon at a time when revenue from government and mail services was declining.
Barclays has said it is working to ensure no customers are left without access to cash.
The bank has launched a frantic campaign to pacify customers, sending emails to tens of thousands of households in a bid to stop them leaving in their droves.
Staff have been phoning vulnerable customers who face longer journeys to access savings. One branch manager even set up a personal visit to a 91- year- old great- grandmother, after she told the bank it had betrayed elderly savers.