Scott Mann has met with the Post Office in the Houses of Parliament to discuss banking services available to communities which have lost high street banks.
The meeting comes after a number of banks announced closure in North Cornwall, with Camelford losing all its bank branches in the space of only a few months.
In March 2015, the major high street banks signed the ‘Access to Banking Protocol,’ which mandates that banks engage with local communities prior to branch closures; publish an impact assessment on closures; and ensure continued provision of alternative ways to bank.
Although it cannot offer complex and regulated financial services that a bank is typically able to provide, the Post Office now has agreements with more than 20 major UK banks to offer services. This means customers are able to access basic banking services over the counter, even in communities that don't have bank branches.
At the meeting in Parliament, Post Office representatives told Scott how ithe upper limit on individual deposits into accounts has been raised from £1000 to £2000. This will help many small businesses who need to deposit their takings but don't have access to a bank.
Scott Mann said:
"Some communities in North Cornwall have sadly seen their bank branches close, and nowhere has seen this most in North Cornwall than Camelford, which has lost all its banks in the last couple of years.
"I have previously asked the town's Post Office to offer more banking services and after meeting with the Post Office in Parliament, I was very encouraged to hear the increasing number of services being offered to communities without banks."
The Post Office also explained its full cash handling services for small businesses, including:
- Automated Cash deposit – real time, instant credit
- Automated cash withdrawal – real time, instant account update
- Manual Cash deposit – by paying in slip – overnight processing, credit the next day
- Manual Cheque deposit – takes an extra day than normal bank credit, just because we have to get them from the branch to the bank.