PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
ACCESS TO CASH (6 February 2019)

That this House expresses concern about the rate at which access to cash is being reduced across the UK, with more than 200 free-to-use cashpoints and 60 bank branches closing per month according to analysis by Which?; recognises that while there has been an increase in digital payments, cash is still expected to be the second most popular payment method in a decade's time; expresses further concern about the 25 million people for whom cash remains a necessity, according to the Access to Cash review, and the 2.2 million people who use cash for all their day-to-day payments, who risk complete financial exclusion as a result of this reduction in access; is alarmed by the number of recent major IT failures at banks, which further highlights the central role for cash as the only non-digital payment method; believes that the rapid reduction in access is not being driven by consumer demand and is not in the consumer interest; and calls on the Government to give a regulator a statutory duty to protect access to cash and a sustainable cash infrastructure for as long as people need it.

Sponsored by:
Ged Killen (Labour)