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“Cash in the pocket.. you know where you are.”
“Cash in the pocket, you know where you are.” That’s the view of one customer who calls into his local Humberside Post Office branch on a weekly basis to withdraw £50.00 in cash from his bank account.“Cash in the pocket, you know where you are.” That’s the view of one customer who calls into his local Humberside Post Office branch on a weekly basis to withdraw £50.00 in cash from his bank account. "£50 I've taken out to go shopping with, like I have done for the last 50 years. Cash is still king in my book.” "I do have cards but very rarely use them. You can flash a card around without really knowing what you're doing," he says.
And it seems that’s a view shared by many as the Post Office reports handling a record amount of cash in July 2024 with customers either depositing or withdrawing more than £3.7bn. July's record beat previous highs set in May, April and December.
As the closure of bank branches shows no sign of stopping the Post Office has stepped in to provide a valuable cash handling service; local, often on the high street, or integral to a local community, the upward trend in the use of the Post Office to handle cash comes as local bank branches are increasingly hard to find. More than 6,000 bank branches have shut their doors since 2015, an average of about 50 each month.
New banking hubs are being opened by some providers with the aim of offering the public similar services, providing access to cash and allowing small businesses to deposit takings. But at present there are just 70 banking hubs already in operation with 100 projected by Christmas 2024.
A postmistress in Barton-upon-Humber with 19 years at her branch, when interviewed for the BBC, said there are lots of reasons people prefer cash. “Well, it can range from anything from people wanting £10 to go to the local hairdressers to get their hair done, ranging up to £300 or £400 for budgeting for the weekly shopping and bills.” "They know exactly what they've got and they can't overspend what they haven't got.”
Although the Post Office's reputation has been damaged in recent years by the Horizon IT scandal it seems clear that this is not a negative attached to the local branches. Support at a local level has remained constant, with around 10 million visits to Post Offices each week and its position on the High Street or within local communities means it offers an essential alternative to many people when bank branches shut down.