New cash rules introduced for high street banks including Barclays, TSB, and Lloyds

Under the new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services such as bank branches and ATM machines - and plug any significant gaps

New rules for major UK high street banks have been introduced today to protect the public's access to cash.

Under the new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services such as bank branches and ATM machines - and plug any significant gaps. From today, local communities - including businesses and charities - will also be allowed to request services if they believe their ability to get physical cash has diminished.

Once requested LINK, which manages the UK’s cash access and ATM network, will then have 12 weeks to do an assessment which examines whether there are gaps in the ability to deposit and withdraw cash. If there are significant gaps, banks and building societies will need to deliver additional cash services to meet the local area's needs.

Depending on the particular circumstances, ways to fill the gap might include the maintenance of a bank branch, installing an ATM, the introduction of a banking hub - this is where several banks share facilities - or a solution involving the Post Office, which has an agreement with banks allowing customers to do their day-to-day banking over its counters.

Some of the major high street banks and building societies in the UK have been designated to deliver the new cash access systems under the rules, and these include Barclays, Santander, Natwest, Lloyds Bank, and TSB.

Here is a list of UK banks that will need to adhere to the new rules:

• Virgin Money
• HSBC
• Natwest Bank
• Ulster Bank
• Nationwide Building Society
• Northern Bank Limited (Danske)
• Santander UK
• The Co-operative Bank
• Lloyds Bank plc
• Halifax
• Bank of Scotland
• The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
• TSB Bank
• AIB Group (UK)
• Bank of Ireland (UK)
• Clydesdale Bank plc

Emad Aladhal, director of retail banking at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told the PA news agency that the changes will support people who rely on cash, as well as local businesses. He said: “This is about making sure that we retain an ability to deposit money and an ability to withdraw money in local communities.”

“Our rules are about making sure that the banks and the co-ordinating body, being Link, listen to that. They will need to consider the existing facilities to deposit cash, and the existing facilities to withdraw cash, they will need to consider things like the journey times of individuals and businesses as well as the reasonableness of that travel time and the cost.

“So, it’s not about looking at a map and going as the crow flies, it’s actually about: Is there public transport? How expensive is it for people to use it? How difficult is it? Et cetera.”

Emad noted that firms would need to make sure that “whatever is suggested is really catering for that community’s need”. Going forward the financial regulator will monitor how the rules are working in practice.

Since the new rules were announced, LINK has reassessed the needs of some local areas and as a result 15 communities, which had not previously been assessed as needing a banking hub, will now get one, six will get an ATM at their banking hub,l and a further six will get an automated deposit service or enhanced Post Office.

Thousands of bank branches have disappeared from high streets over the past decade with the consumer group Which? revealing in May that more than 6,000 bank branches had closed since 2015. Adrian Roberts, deputy chief executive of Link, said: “What’s key is that as a result of the new rules, Link will be able to recommend more banking hubs and alongside free-to-use ATMs and post offices, access to cash will be protected for many years to come.”

The government recently held a banking hubs roundtable with industry leaders, with a commitment to 230 hubs being delivered by the end of 2025 and a further 120 rolled out by the end of the Parliament – meaning a total of 350 banking hubs should be open by the end of the Parliament.