Banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services, like branches and ATMs, and plug significant gaps, under new rules announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  

From 18 September, they will need to: 

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  • Assess cash access and understand if additional services are needed, when changes are being made to local services.  
  • Respond to local residents, community organisations and representative groups, who will be able to request an assessment of whether there are gaps in local cash access. 
  • Where significant gaps are found, deliver reasonable additional cash services 
  • Keep facilities, including bank branches and ATMs, open until any additional cash services identified are available.  

Commenting on this, FCA executive director of consumers and competition, Sheldon Mills, said: “Three million people continue to rely on cash, even as digital payments become more popular. And many small businesses still need somewhere to safely deposit their takings each day.  

“That’s why we’ve acted quickly in response to new powers given to us by Parliament to ensure reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposits is maintained.”

Gaps in cash access could be filled with a range of measures, including banking hubs, ATMs (including deposit ATMs) and Post Office facilities. The FCA’s powers won’t prevent the closure of bank branches – but will have an impact where branch closures leave significant gaps in local cash access.

Fourteen banks and building societies have been designated by the government to deliver this new cash access system. 

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The FCA has made changes to the rules it consulted on, including extending the period for banks and building societies to carry out cash access assessments, giving local communities more time to make their case. Firms will also be able to review the provision of identified cash services after 2 years. 

The FCA has also published research on who relies on cash. This found that being in a low-income household (less than £15,000 a year) and having low digital capability or access has the strongest association with reliance on cash.