Published: 18 August 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
Banks will soon be required to provide free access to cash withdrawals for consumers and businesses within one mile for people living in urban areas, and within three miles in rural areas. The new rules, reported exclusively by Sky News and shortly thereafter confirmed by The Treasury, come in response to the accelerating closure of bank branches. An average of more than 50 UK bank branches have closed each month since 2015. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will also be given the power to police access to cash, and be able to fine lenders breaching the new guidelines. Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the Treasury, said that "cash is here to stay". "People shouldn't have to trek for hours to withdraw a tenner to put in someone's birthday card - nor should businesses have to travel large distances to deposit cash takings," he added. “These are measures which benefit everyone who uses cash but particularly those living in rural areas, the elderly and those with disabilities." The new rules to make access to cash a legal right will be introduced as part of the upcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill, according to the Government’s website, and follows a recent Treasury consultation which found broad support for setting “geographic requirements to ensure the provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities to meet cash needs through time”.
Meanwhile, Barclays bank has sparked a fresh de-banking row by closing the account of a firm supplying tanks for Ukraine. Tanks A Lot, a firm based in Northamptonshire, found themselves without a bank account after Barclays opted to shut it down. Speaking exclusively to GB News, company owner Nick Mead says he believes the company wanted to sever ties with his group as their relations with the war-stricken country are considered “high risk”. “We’ve been with Barclays for 45 years, we’ve never been overdrawn”, he said, adding: “I don’t think I am high risk because every vehicle here has been checked by the Department for Business and Trade.”
Wet weather has been blamed for a worse-than-expected fall in retail sales last month. Officials figures showed the quantity of goods bought fell 1.2% month on month in July. Non-food retailers reported a 1.7% drop, with supermarkets taking the biggest hit – their sales tumbled 2.6% in July as both clothing lines and food sales dipped. Food stores sales volumes fell by a monthly 2.6%. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said the weather meant more shoppers switched to online purchases, noting that 27.4% of retail sales took place online last month, up from 26% in June, and the highest level since February 2022. Overall, retail sales volumes for the month were 3.2% lower than a year earlier.
The membership-only retail warehouse chain Costco is planning to expand across the UK, opening 14 more branches within the next two years. Each new site will have at least 650 parking spaces, a petrol station, and electric vehicle charging points, it said. The proposed new outlets would take the total number of UK Costco stores from 29 to 44. The chain is the world’s fifth largest retailer.
Aldi says it want to hire 1,700 more warehouse staff this year to meet its UK expansion plans. The German supermarket chain will offer employees salaries of up to £53,000. Aldi has said previously it plans to open an average of one new store a week across the UK between now and Christmas.
China’s Evergrande yesterday filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in a bid to protect its assets while working on a multi-billion dollar deal with creditors, the BBC reports. The world’s most heavily indebted property developer defaulted on its debts in 2021 - sending shockwaves through global financial markets - after Beijing imposed new rules limiting the amount of debt that could be accessed by the property sector, forcing Evergrande to sell properties at major discounts in an attempt to meet its repayment obligations. Evergrande has debts estimated at more than $300bn (£235bn), and revealed last month it lost a combined 581.9bn yuan (£62.7bn) over the last two years. Its shares have been suspended from trading since last year. The group's real estate unit has more than 1,300 projects in more than 280 cities in the country, according to its website, and other businesses include an electric car maker and a football club.
Access to cash to become a legal right, Treasury says
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