Post Office continues to take the strain of demand for cash

Figures released by the Post Office this morning show that business cash deposits were more than £1bn for the fifth month in a row and personal cash withdrawals were at their highest point of the year with £692m handed out over the counter, up 1% on September.

Overall, business and personal cash deposits were up 15% year on year.

A recent Post Office survey found nearly half (44%) of small hospitality and leisure businesses in the UK rely on cash daily.

A third (34%) of hospitality and leisure business owners said they would fear for the security of their business if they didn’t have the ability to deposit cash at the end of each day.

The Post Office recently launched a ‘Save Our Cash’ campaign calling for the Government to speed up legislation to protect access to cash for the millions of people and businesses that rely on it.

Martin Kearsley, banking director at the Post Office, said: “Small businesses, particularly in the hospitality and leisure sectors, recognise the value of cash now more than ever.

“Many of their customers rely on cash, and to ensure services they offer are available to everyone in their communities, they need to accept cash to operate.

“Post Offices are a local, secure and reliable place where they can quickly deposit it without missing out on trade.

“October saw another strong month across our network in supporting customers and businesses to deposit and withdraw cash conveniently and securely.

“Postmasters are keeping their branches open long hours, playing an essential role in the cash ecosystem in their community.”