UK Post Office becomes a bunch of bankers
“Been waiting long?” “Put it this way, I was an embryo when I arrived.”
The UK’s Post Office has entered the banking market as a new industry-wide agreement with the nation’s banks comes into effect.
From today (24 January), 99% of UK personal bank customers and over 75% of business customers can do their day-to-day banking at the Post Office – described as the “biggest expansion in face-to-face banking access in a generation”. Enjoy the queues – it’s a nightmare every day in most post offices. Bring a sleeping bag, bring food and supplies, alert the authorities, and tell your family and friends where you are going. You will be in that queue for a loooooooooooooong time.
Nick Kennett, chief executive of Post Office Financial Services, says: “Making banking services available through Post Offices better and more efficient will significantly improve overall ease of access, and ensure we are continuing to reach vulnerable customers and those in remote areas, who depend on it most.”
The new agreement will bring together the Post Office’s existing arrangements with individual banks into a single set of cash and cheque services available to customers of virtually all UK banks. Card-based transactions will enable real-time credit and debit payments into customer accounts.
Last year the Post Office says it carried out 110 million banking transactions across its network – an average of over 200 a minute and a 6% increase from the previous year, as even more customers “benefited” (really?) from the services provided. Customers were held hostage more like.
The Post Office says customers will also benefit from longer opening hours and over 4,000 branches open on Sundays. You’ll be able to read the Bible (twice) as you wait in the queue.
The Post Office says it has worked closely with all the UK banks since March 2015 to assist them in fulfilling their “continued access” commitment to the UK Government. By making sure alternative counter-based banking services are accessible through the Post Office, it says the “impact of local branch closures on communities can be minimised”.
Post Office facts:
In 2015, over 100 million banking transactions were carried at Post Office’s on behalf of partner banks.
The Post Office network consists of 11,600 branches.
Blah blah. Whatever. They usually deliver my post to my next door neighbour. How hard can it be to get the right number? Thankfully, my neighbour posts my letters into my letterbox. Maybe she should be on the Post Office’s payroll? Get it sorted Kennett.
