Rochford and Cambuslang BankHubs celebrate one-year anniversary – playing pivotal role in local economies

• Two Bank Hubs, operated by the Post Office in partnership with the banks and the local communities, and part of the Community Access to Cash pilots, celebrate one year of operation
• Over £11.6 million in cash withdrawals and deposits took place in just first year of operation in Rochford and Cambuslang
• “People are spending more time in their local community, they want to support small businesses and the cash they are taking out and spending is all staying within the area, helping the town to prosper.” Richard Fleetwood, Rochford Postmaster
• “The BankHUB was an immediate success in Cambuslang. Very quickly it has generated high levels of use, with excellent customer assessments for the quality of service.” John Bachtler, Chair of Cambuslang Community Council
• Lessons from Rochford and Cambuslang are supporting the Cash Action Group’s roll out of eight banking hubs announced this year and overseen by a new Banking Hub company chaired by Natalie Ceeney CBE

Two BankHubs at Rochford and Cambuslang, operated by the Post Office in partnership with the banks, today (28 April) celebrate their one-year anniversary. New figures show they provided over £11.6 million in cash withdrawals and deposits to local residents and businesses in just one year.

First year of operation

As part of the Community Access to Cash Pilots (CACP) initiative, two Bank Hubs operated by the Post Office, alongside the banks, were established in April 2021 to provide local customers with basic banking and cash services, as well as dedicated rooms where they could see community bankers from their own bank.

As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response from the local community, last December the Cash Action Group announced they would continue to run until spring 2023, at least.

Of the £11.6 million in cash transactions, £9.2 million has been business and personal cash deposits and £2.4 million has been personal cash withdrawals.

Martin Kearsley, Post Office Banking Director, said:

“We’re incredibly proud of the positive contribution the first two Hubs are making to local residents and businesses. Millions of people rely on cash every single day and cash is quite literally helping businesses tick over as they operate in the post Covid-19 landscape. The Hubs, as well as Post Offices more broadly, are providing a convenient and secure place for businesses and the self-employed to deposit much needed cash takings.”

Richard Fleetwood, Postmaster for Rochford BankHub, said:

“People are spending more time in their local community, they want to support small businesses and the cash they are taking out and spending is all staying within the area, helping the town to prosper. Every Tuesday, market traders rely on us to deposit their cash takings and we have customers coming to us each week to do their everyday banking.

“Not everyone can do their banking online and we provide some people, particularly the elderly, with an opportunity to have some social interaction and it feels like a proper local community here where we all look out for each other. Even a year on, we’re seeing new faces as people try our hub for the first time which is contributing to month-on-month growth in cash transactions.”

John Bachtler, Chair of Cambuslang Community Council, which led one of the BankHUB pilots, said:

“We are delighted to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Cambuslang BankHUB and we are very proud that Cambuslang has piloted a new model of high-street banking that is now spreading to the rest of the UK. When Cambuslang Community Council applied to be a Community Access to Cash Pilot (CACP), we were clear that improving access to cash in Cambuslang, following the closure of three bank branches, required a physical space that was secure, private and trusted and where customers could speak to someone face-to-face for their banking transactions.

“The result was the BankHUB pilot – the product of a great partnership between the CACP team, the Post Office, five major banks and Cambuslang Community Council. The BankHUB was an immediate success in Cambuslang. Very quickly it has generated high levels of use, with excellent customer assessments for the quality of service. The BankHUB has significantly improved local access to cash for residents (especially vulnerable people) and businesses. People no longer have to travel to other towns for banking transactions. Being able to conduct banking business on the Main Street has led people to spend more money in the town centre.

“Hubs are now being slowly rolled out elsewhere, and Cambuslang Community Council are very pleased to be providing peer support to share its experience of improving access to cash with other towns and communities across the UK.”

Last December, the Cash Action Group announceddetails of a new landmark agreement to ensure long-term cash availability across the UK. Part of the agreement includes the roll out of shared banking hubs in Acton (West London), Brixham (Devon), Carnoustie (Angus), Knaresborough (North Yorks) and Syston (Leicestershire), Buckingham, Cottingham and Troon. It also includes Post Office delivering new and improved, dedicated cash services in up to 30 branches.

Martin Kearsley added:

“We’re helping maintain people’s access to cash via our 11,500 branches which are handling over £3 billion in cash every single month and through our cash supply network, a critical national infrastructure asset, moving cash around all parts of the country. We look forward to working with the Cash Action Group on their roll out of eight banking hubs later this year and we’ll also be modernising a select number of branches to improve cash deposit facilities.”