IS YOUR LOCAL STORE THE ANSWER?
Once, Joe’s shop was needed for bread and milk. But as the banks quit the shires, shoppers now also come in to get money – and business is thriving!
FOR decades, The Village Shop in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, was used by locals who wanted little more than a loaf of bread and a pint of milk.
But then the convenience store’s customers started complaining that they were increasingly unable to get their hands on another staple — cash.
So, three years ago, owner Joe Williams grabbed the chance to open a Post Office counter within the shop.
Now, his store is a busy hub on which residents rely to pay in cheques, withdraw their pension or take out cash.
Joe, 38, who has worked at the family business since he was 16 years old, spoke to Money Mail on the day that a major report reveals Britain’s cash system is on the verge of collapse.
The Access To Cash Review warns that unless ministers and regulators act to protect cash, it could disappear in just 15 years. This would leave millions of people — particularly the elderly — unable to access basic services.
Like increasing numbers of small towns and villages across Britain, there is not a single bank branch or ATM where Joe lives in Hook Norton.
The nearest banks are four miles away in Chipping Norton — but even there, branches are starting to close. NatWest shut in 2018, following in the footsteps of HSBC in 2017. Barclays has also cut its opening hours to three days a week.
The last bank branch in Hook Norton, a Barclays, closed around 20 years ago. For years, locals made do with the village Post Office, but that closed in 2015.
It was replaced with a mobile Post Office service that visited until Joe’s family launched their counter.
THE Village Shop has been in Joe’s family for almost three decades. His parents, Tom, 69, and Gloria, 62, bought the store in 1989 and are now mostly retired.
The shop, which sells everything from fresh fruit to lottery tickets, is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 9am to 6pm on Sundays.
To cope with the extra demand, Joe has employed extra staff — 16 in total, with eight trained to man the Post Office.
Businesses in rural areas can be heavily reliant on cash because poor broadband and mobile signal means card machines do not always work.
Joe says his shop provides a service people depend on. ‘Customers come to withdraw benefits and pensions and deposit cheques,’ he adds.
‘Some of our elderly customers don’t want to bank online, so they come here to collect their whole pension in cash.’
As well as helping his community thrive in an ATM and bank branch desert, Joe’s Post Office counter is also good for business, by driving footfall. The Williamses are paid commission by the Post Office for carrying out its services. But, while these bring customers through the door, the counter doesn’t make a profit.
‘We make around £14,000 or so a year from Post Office commission, but we have to pay our staff ourselves,’ says Joe. Putting aside Post Office services, the shop has a gross turnover of about £1 million a year. Joe believes that banks have a ‘moral responsibility’ to provide alternatives if they remove branches and ATMs from villages. He adds: ‘They also need to make sure people like me are effectively reimbursed for all the extra work we do.’
Last month, Money Mail revealed how Britain’s biggest bank Lloyds is, for the first time, running a scheme to pay small shopkeepers to offer customers cashback in areas where ATMs are disappearing. It is hoped that the move will restore access to cash and boost footfall for struggling newsagents, greengrocers and butchers.
Today’s report says: ‘ Clearly, some communities will need the 24/7 access that ATMs offer, but for others, a convenience store offering cashback might work better. And it may be cheaper and more sustainable, as well as supporting local High Streets.’
Joe says cash has an important social role in the village. ‘I think some people who pay by cash also enjoy the interaction. Paying by contactless can be quite isolating, as you can just tap and go without making eye contact.
‘We know some people just want to come in and have a chat.’
And, as the only place in the village where locals can get cash, he keeps an eye on his customers — especially if they’re elderly.
But Joe believes his village will never go entirely cashless. He adds: ‘The customer should have the right to choose — and some people will always prefer cash.’
A Post Office spokesman says: ‘We are committed to ensuring our postmasters receive appropriate remuneration for the vital services they offer their customers.’