Barclays withdrawal from post offices a concern: Regulator
Barclays
Britain'sregulatorfor payment systems said it wasconcerned thatBarclayshas pulled out of an agreement that allows customers of banks to withdraw cashfrompostofficesfor free.
Lawmakers have piled pressure on banks to maintain their free-to-use cash machine network as fewer people use branches and opt to bank online and pay for purchases by card.
Postofficeshave sought to plug gaps created by banks closing cash machines in rural areas in particular. Last year, Britain's 11,500PostOffice branches handled more than 130 million transactions for UK banks.
"This step byBarclaysreduces the number of places their customers can go to get cash," the Payment SystemsRegulator(PSR) said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We areconcerned about the impact this will have, and we will be closely monitoring the stepsBarclaysplan to take to make sure there are suitable alternatives for its customers to access their cash - especially those who rely on cash or who live in rural areas."
Barclayssaid cashwithdrawals atpostoffice counters will end in January but it has increased funding for thePostOffice so customers and businesses can still pay in cash, cheques and check balances.
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Barclayssaid it would not close branches in remote areas, or where it is the last bank in town, for the next two years.
The PSR said it welcomed newsfromthePostOffice on Tuesday that the rest of Britain's banks will continue to offer full banking services to their customers throughpostoffices.
Britain's largest cash machine (ATM) network that allows banks to offer customers access to cash is operated by LINK.
Theregulatorsaid it may use its powers to ensure that LINK's public commitments regarding the use ofpostofficesand the availability of free-to-use cash machines are being met.
Consumer campaign group whichsaid last month that poorer areas were the worst affected by the loss of free-to-use cash machines.
One in 10 of Britain's free-to-use cash machines either closed or started charging a fee over the past 17 months, while more than a third of bank branches have shut within the past five years, Which? said.