Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants currently hold Post Office Card Accounts; what assessment her Department has made of the impact on claimants of ending their use for benefit and pension payments from November 2021; and what steps her Department is taking to help claimants set up alternative accounts.
In 2015 there was circa 2.3m active Post Office Card Accounts (POca) users, which has now reduced to less than 350k.
The Department has a dedicated team, the Financial Inclusion Customer Contact Centre, to support all Post Office Card Account customers to transition to standard accounts. A new Payment Exception Service exists for customers who are unable to access a standard account to receive their payments.
The Department is actively contacting Post Office Card Account customers to provide support and advice on the future payment methods available.