Connor Donnithorne has joined the national campaign to protect access to cash.
- The independent ‘Access to Cash Review’ highlighted the risks to millions of people of “sleepwalking” into a cashless society.
- Across the UK, More than five million adults still rely on cash, and it’s used in six billion transactions every year.
Connor Donnithorne, the Prospective MP for Camborne and Redruth, is calling on the Government to protect access to cash for the most vulnerable in our society.
Cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and this is particularly true in Cornwall, where many rely on it in their day-to-day lives. The pandemic has put an already fragile cash network under additional strain, resulting in further ATM and bank branch closures, including in low-income or rural areas, eroding access for people who need it most.
Using data from the House of Commons Library, you can see that between 2018 and 2023 there has been a 29% decrease in the availability of free use to ATMs.
Cash remains a crucial part of many people’s lives, helping them to budget effectively, and with the cost of living squeezing our finances this has become more important than ever. But failure to help communities access their cash will leave vulnerable people at crisis point and have a potentially devastating knock-on effect on local high streets.
Connor said, “Cash is vital for some of the most vulnerable in our society, that is why we must protect it.
“Following the impact of the pandemic, banks and cash points have closed across Cornwall, but people still need these vital services.
“As the MP, I will continue to call for full access for local residents and businesses - and have had conversations about banking hubs with the post office and other organisations. We need to make sure people can still access this important facility for the next decade at least, otherwise we are risk of leaving people behind.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
- The number of free-to-use cashpoints and ATMs in the Camborne Redruth constituency has fallen from 57 in 2018, to 46 in 2022 and 40 in 2023. (House of Commons Library Briefing, ‘Statistics on access to cash, bank branches and ATMs’, accessed 8th May 2024).
- In 2022, automated teller machines (ATMs) provided about 90% of the cash withdrawn in the UK. But the number of free-to-use ATMs has fallen over recent years, partly because fees payable to machine operators have reduced. Those operators have often responded by introducing pay-to-use ATMs.
- In 2019 the Access to Cash Review called on Government, regulators, financial services and others to work together to “keep cash viable for the foreseeable future”. Government and regulatory responses have since referred to and build on the review’s recommendations:
- The Government said in 2020 that it was committed to supporting the use of cash, noting its importance to people who are financially excluded.
- The Financial Services Act 2021 enabled traders to offer cashback without a purchase.
- The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 gives the FCA powers to ensure that customers have “reasonable access” to free cash deposit and withdrawal facilities. The Treasury notes that currently most people and businesses in urban areas have access to such facilities within one mile, while most people and businesses in rural areas have such access within three miles. It says that the Government’s broad aim is to maintain this.
- The FCA will consult on further detail. It says that new rules should be in place by summer 2024.
- The 2023 Act also gives the Bank of England powers to oversee and protect the wholesale cash infrastructure.
