Financial Exclusion: Access to Cash
Debate between Ruth George and Seema Malhotra(5 years, 6 months ago)
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Seema Malhotra
My hon. Friend’s extremely important point is one I was about to go on to. We have seen this debate previously in relation to post offices, and have then seen post offices become an important part of the strategy for maintaining access to cash—Mastercard and others are also working with them. Research from the Post Office shows that about 44% of small businesses believe that the convenience of cash is essential to their business, and also that they use post offices. Yet, alongside this debate, we see these warnings, and alongside the challenges that the post office network faces, deprived and rural communities will have even poorer access to cash.
Ruth George (High Peak) (Lab)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Does she agree that the change in the post office contracts, particularly in the local and local plus contracts, meaning that post offices get only £12 for handling £1,000 of cash, is driving down the provision of post offices in rural communities and towns in particular?
Seema Malhotra
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Post offices in my constituency have raised similar concerns.