Your Post Office will fight against the sleepwalk into a cashless society | UK | News

There are many who say “cash is dead” or “why pay using cash when it’s easier to just tap your phone?” But look what happened across Spain and Portugal last month when a major power outage resulted in lengthy queues to get cash out from ATMs. Tens of thousands of people waited in lines to purchase everyday essentials in dark supermarkets and struggled to pay for essentials if they didn’t have cash.

Now the UK’s Treasury Committee has, quite rightly, warned that Britain “must avoid sleepwalking into a situation where cash is no longer widely accepted”. At the Post Office, we know just how vital cash is for millions of people and small businesses. That’s why I have been delighted to announce a new banking deal, ensuring everyday services remain available at the counter at thousands of Post Offices across the UK.

I’m sure many Express readers have visited their local branch to deposit cash or withdraw money for the food shop or to give as a gift to children and grandchildren. Small businesses – particularly our cafes, pubs and market stall traders – rely on us to deposit cash takings.

Post Offices remain the hub of communities up and down the country – providing face-to-face services relied on by millions of people each week, as well as playing a vital role in the survival of small businesses on our high streets.

Our five-year agreement with the UK’s banks and building societies protects access to cash at Post Offices for the foreseeable future. Now I want to work closely with them to improve the service we provide and to see what further banking products and services our postmasters and partners can provide in-branch. 

It is an honour and a privilege to have been appointed as the new CEO of the Post Office. There is huge public support for postmasters and people value the important role they play in their local community. But the Post Office itself must change. I am under no illusions about this, or the huge job to restore trust and pride in the Post Office as an institution.

My three priorities are to firstly pay postmasters fairly for the work that they do day in, day out, to support their communities. It also means paying redress to former postmasters as quickly as possible.

We will deliver a New Deal for Postmasters as part of our transformation plan that will put more money into their pockets. By the end of this decade, we want to deliver an additional £250million a year to postmasters. Securing this new banking deal is a crucial part of this and we will increase the pay postmasters receive for the vital cash and banking services they provide.

Secondly, we must build a culture of partnership with postmasters and strategic partners. This can only happen by bringing them into the heart of decision-making at the Post Office. I have established a Postmaster Consultative Council where different groups representing postmasters are meeting regularly with me and my executive team to help inform the direction of the company.

Thirdly, we must strengthen the Post Office’s role as the hub of the  high street. This new banking deal helps to do that, but our branches are so much more than a place to withdraw cash, take a parcel or pick up foreign currency.

They are a place you can go to when you want to chat to someone – whether that’s your postmaster, your friend or your neighbour. They are the place you go to when you need to pay a bill or top up your gas or electricity meter.

They are the place you go to when you want expert advice, whether that’s for completing a passport or driving licence application, or want to know which delivery company to use to send your precious parcel to a friend or loved one.

It is a pivotal year for the Post Office. We have received funding from the Government to enable us to start delivering a New Deal for Postmasters. Next, we will ensure our network is fit for purpose, by setting out what we need for a sustainable and prosperous future.

We’ll respond to the Government’s green paper on the future of the Post Office – due later this year – and I’d encourage Express readers to do the same. 

I also want to thank readers for continuing to support their local Post Office staff.