High street banks will have to ensure customers can find access to cash within three miles of their local communities, and those falling below the minimum service level will face a fine, the government has confirmed.
After the closure of thousands of local branches in recent years, and the switch to digital payment methods, ministers are looking to banks to help protect vulnerable groups and elderly customers by maintaining present levels of cash access across the UK.
The “vast majority” of people are able to withdraw money within one mile, if they live in cities, and three miles if they live in rural areas, the Treasury said. That includes cash withdrawals through cash machines, bank branches and shops offering free cashback.
The government said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would make sure banks and building societies were “keeping up to these standards – and have the power to fine them if they do not”.
On Thursday, the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage went to Downing Street to hand in a petition that called on the government to crack down on businesses that have increasingly instituted card-only policies and refused to accept cash since the Covid crisis.