Now Barclays rations its little-known cash lifeline
After High Street bank bans Post Office cash withdrawals...
BARCLAYS is offering desperate customers cheque books so they can make cash withdrawals at Post Offices — but only those deemed vulnerable enough can get one.
The banking giant is facing a huge backlash after announcing it is going to stop its customers from using their bank cards to withdraw cash at Post Offices.
The decision means that, from January, only those with a special cheque book will still be able to take out up to £100 per day at the Post Office. Yet, while the littleknown, 28-page books could prove a lifeline for tens of thousands of customers, not everyone can get one.
Barclays says they are only for those with ‘additional requirements’. This may mean the customer is unable to use an ATM or travel to an alternative cash machine, bank branch or one of the 200 retailers teaming up with the bank to offer cashback under a new scheme launching next year.
Campaigners accuse the bank of failing to do enough to promote the cheque books. Meanwhile, customers are baffled by the decision to revert to an old-fashioned payment method.
An industry source adds that the cheque service is not built to sustain this number of customers. They accused Barclays of exploiting a loophole following the backlash.
Money Mail understands that just 387 customers of all banks nationwide are registered to cash cheques at the Post Office, and only 1,884 were processed last year.
As banks and ATMs close at an alarming rate, rural communities are increasingly dependent on the national network of 11,500 Post Offices for banking services.
Since Barclays’ shock announcement that it is ending its cash withdrawal service, Money Mail has been inundated with letters and emails from distraught customers unsure how they will now access their money. Many are elderly, have mobility and health issues or are vulnerable and describe the Post Office as a lifeline.
Anne Wood, 86, has struggled to use cash machines since her eyesight deteriorated. And even if she could, the village where she lives, near Christchurch, Dorset, does not have any ATMs.
Accessing cash would mean waiting for an unreliable bus or taking an expensive taxi journey to the next nearest town. The former primary school teacher says she has not been offered a special cheque book to withdraw cash and does not think much of the idea.
She says: ‘Why could I not just use my normal cheque book, although even this wouldn’t be as convenient as my debit card? And why is the restriction to £100 when I have a good balance? It will be much less bother to change to another bank. I am disgusted with Barclays.’
Another customer, Mark Sims, who lives in South Hams, a rural, coastal part of Devon, says many elderly people in his village who are barely mobile rely on the Post Office as a lifeline. ‘There are no banks or cash machines in the village — the nearest bank branch is a 28-mile round trip and there is no decent public transport.’
Mark, 59, says Barclays’ cheque book scheme is going ‘three steps backwards’, and adds: ‘Aren’t banks trying to stop people using cheques? This decision was not thought through and has ended up an utter mess.
‘If Barclays thinks the cheque book is a solution, it should offer one to all customers.’ It is estimated that the move to axe cash withdrawals from Post Offices will save Barclays just £7 million a year — a fraction of the £17 million
daily profit the bank is forecast to have made over the summer.
Last week, 124 MPs signed a letter to chief executive Jes Staley urging him to reverse the decision. In the meantime, experts are calling on the bank to at least offer its cheque book to every customer that wants one.
Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, says: ‘Barclays’ decision to offer cash withdrawals via cheque books to select customers will only further add to confusion, and does nothing to help the huge numbers of people who will be excluded from this measure and left feeling abandoned.’
Watchdog the Payment Systems Regulator says it is concerned about the impact Barclays’ decision will have on customers. It will closely monitor the steps the bank plans to take to make sure there are suitable alternatives.
The Financial Conduct Authority says: ‘We require all regulated firms to treat customers fairly. Access to cash and other banking services is vital for communities, financial inclusion and the resilience of the economy. We expect banks to make arrangements for these services to be provided.
‘Barclays need to ensure that they identify the customers most impacted, particularly those who are vulnerable, and the availability of alternative ways of accessing cash.’
Barclays refuses to disclose how many cheque books have been sent to customers, but says it expects demand to be low, as in most cases it should be able to identify a nearby free ATM or retailer offering cashback for customers to use instead.
It has promised to freeze branch closures for two years where the branch is ‘Last in Town’.