MP Backs More Services at the Post Office

David Taylor MP, whose family ran the village post office at Heather for several generations, has called for new financial products and services to be made available from the Post Office.

David said “Post Offices are a great British institution that has been part of our communities for over three hundred years. I campaigned hard against the local closures which have already been imposed by Post Office management and know from the support I received how deeply people care about the future of our Post Offices.

“So I want to see more financial services at the Post Office. It will give people here in North West Leicestershire access to a full range of banking products at an institution we trust and value.

“I want to hear your views on this so please do let me know what you think – you can e-mail me at taylordl.parliament.uk or leave a message at my office by calling 01530 814372.

Ends

Notes for Editors

1. The Government consultation outlines a number of financial services that the Post Office could offer, including:

• Post Office Current Account

• Post Office Children’s Savings Account – an account designed to encourage children to save through visits to their local Post Office.

• Post Office Business Bank Accounts – currently the Post Office offers access to business accounts from a few High Street banks. It could offer increased access to business accounts from other providers, as well as its own business account.

• A weekly budgeting account – many low income households are unable to take advantage of the savings that can be made by paying for services by direct debit. One way to tackle this problem is by offering a simple account that could ring-fence a proportion of income each week, and then pay out bills by direct debit on a monthly or quarterly basis.

• A closer link between the Post Office and credit unions – it can be difficult to access credit union accounts when people are not in their local area. The local nature of the Post Office makes it ideally placed to allow credit union savers to access their accounts across the country.

• Working to ensure all banks’ current accounts can be accessed at a Post Office – currently 60% of current accounts (around 25m accounts) can be accessed at Post Office branches. The Government wants more banks to allow their current accounts to be accessible at the Post Office.

2. The Post Office is one of the UK’s fastest growing financial services providers, and the country’s number one foreign currency provider. This consultation is the next step towards turning the Post Office into a leading player in financial services, offering banking products across its network.