BANK ROBBERY
500,000 Scots left without access to cash
HALF a million Scots could struggle to access cash due to the unprecedented rate of bank closures, warn MPs.
Scotland has the highest percentage loss of bank branches across the UK, with 53 per cent closing since 2015, the Scottish Affairs Committee’s Access to Cash in Scotland report found.
The committee, chaired by SNP MP Pete Wishart, is urging the UK Government to offer support to those struggling to transition to the increasing digitisation of banks.
While many now have access to online banking, it is estimated 500,000 Scots rely on cash due to trouble adapting to digital payments or for budgeting.
Plans for a Financial Services and Markets Bill, with added protections on access to cash, was welcomed by the committee.
However, Wishart said urgent action is needed as fears grow that banks are rushing to close branches before the legislation comes into force.
He said: “Access to cash across Scotland has been decimated in recent years, leading to Westminster committees investigating the issue multiple times. While the move to digital banking and payments has offered a method at which to do transactions that many of us enjoy, we can’t forget the 500,000 people in Scotland who rely on cash in their day-to-day lives.”
The report also urges the UK Government to support free access to cash through free-touse ATMs in the most rural and deprived areas of the UK. It is currently provided by voluntary organisations such as Link’s Financial Inclusion Programme.
A final recommendation includes asking for a banks commitment to keep services for customers using Post Offices.
A Treasury spokesman said: “We recognise that cash is a vital for millions of people across the UK.
“And we are legislating to ensure people will continue to be able to access cash and have legislated to enable shops to offer cashback to customers, regardless of if they make a purchase.”