Research shows nearly half of UK public still use in-person banking monthly, as Government reviews if protections are needed

• Demand for in-person banking remains high as half of UK public use local services at least monthly
• Face-to-face services desired by broad demographics, from small businesses, young adults and high earners, to people who are financially and digitally excluded, with accessibility needs, and older people
• Government review examining if action needed to protect access to in-person banking

Nearly half the UK public (48%) use in-person banking at least once a month, and almost seven in ten (68%) want to keep access close to home, new Post Office research has found, underlining how millions of people and small businesses still rely on face-to-face services even as high street bank branches close.

The research found a wide range of everyday moments during which people still want to deal with someone in person, from a recently bereaved customer closing a loved one’s account, to a shopkeeper banking the day’s takings, to someone querying in person whether a suspicious payment request is a scam.

The research found a wider range of demographics regularly opting to bank in person than expected:

• SMEs rely heavily on in-person services for day-to-day operational needs;
• younger adults (over half of 18-24 year-olds (62%) have opened a bank account in person in the last two years and 58% say that being able to do so in person is important to them); and
• higher earners (more than half of people (54%) earning over £75,000 a year have opened a new bank account in-person in the last two years).

In-person banking is valued for both simple and complex transactions and high-risk needs. People and businesses polled expressed safety and security concerns as a key reason to opt for physical over digital banking: three in five people (60%) want to be able to report a scam or fraud in person, while nearly three in five (59%) want to get help with payment issues in person. This need has become more important as financial fraud targeting individuals and businesses becomes more complex, smarter, and more widespread, increasingly enabled by AI.

Many people and SMEs already turn to their local Post Office as bank branches close. One in three people (33%) say they would struggle to access their finances without it. Many of the cash and banking services highlighted in the research are already available at 10,000 post office branches across the UK. However, the research shows strong demand for this to be extended, with half (50%) of UK adults saying they would like to see a larger range of banking services at their local post office.

Neil Brocklehurst, Post Office CEO, said: “We often hear about a digital-led future for banking, but safe and convenient in-person banking remains a fundamental need for people and businesses. We have established a foundation for this access through collaboration between Post Office and the banking industry with the Banking Framework and delivery of banking hubs. The question now is how we build on that progress. As this new research highlights, there is an emerging challenge around access to a broader range of in-person banking services.”

The Government’s recently launched Access to Banking Services Review is an opportunity for a coordinated response across Government and industry to protect in-person banking services as high street bank branch numbers continue to drop.

Neil Brocklehurst added: “The Government’s Access to Banking Services Review is a chance to build on what we’ve learned about collaboration across industry, making best use of existing infrastructure, and designing services around how people actually live and work today. As a trusted high street presence with strong national infrastructure, Post Office has a clear role to play in this, and our research shows us that the public back us playing a greater role, in partnership with banks and Government.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

* Research from WPI Economics commissioned by the Post Office. Figures from a representative poll of 2,000 UK consumers conducted by Censuswide in March 2026 and data analysis of publicly available data on cash and banking usage and availability. WPI Economics also conducted focus groups for the research with SMEs and consumers about their experiences of cash and banking, and interviews with senior industry stakeholders.

• Many people and SMEs find their local Post Office a vital source of banking support as bank branches have closed. Almost one in five (18%) of those who lost a branch recently turned to a Post Office to access their account, and one in three (33%) now say they would struggle to access their finances without their local Post Office. The infrastructure to meet this need is already in place, with 99% of the UK population within at least three miles of a local post office.
• Established in 2017, Post Office’s Banking Framework is a standardised framework for United Kingdom financial institutions, including 30 commercial banks, that allows 95% of business banking customers to use any post office for basic banking services – including withdrawing or depositing cash, paying in cheques, and obtaining balances.
• In November 2024, the Post Office launched its Transformation Plan which will deliver a digitally enabled, more sustainable business with better supported postmasters, products and services so that postmasters and our partners can continue their vital role supporting communities across the UK.
• As part of our Transformation Plan, we are delivering a New Deal for Postmasters with an intent to improve Postmaster remuneration by an additional £250 million annually by 2030. In 2025/26, Post Office delivered an additional £86 million to postmasters – a 21% increase on the previous year. Remuneration continues to increase and last month saw the highest monthly remuneration payment to postmasters since 2013.