Banks will no longer be allowed to shut branches without first ensuring towns have enough access to cash services
BANKS will no longer be allowed to shut branches without first ensuring towns have enough access to cash services, a watchdog announced last night.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was tightening requirements for lenders to consider the wider impact of closures on communities.
It has no power to stop shutdowns but can now compel banks to ensure there is sufficient access to money — such as at ATMs or a Post Office — before wielding the axe.
Some 6,000 branches have been lost in the last decade yet three million people, notably from lower income households, still rely on cash, and £1.6billion is withdrawn every week.
Despite this, there are only 35 permanent Cash Access UK sites — hubs funded by nine banks aimed at providing essential cash and services.
Cash Access UK only starts planning for a hub when the last bank has gone which customers claim can leave them high and dry.
One in Welling, South East London, opened 18 months after the town’s last bank, a Barclays, went.
Importantly, the FCA has informed the major high street lenders that they should no longer wait until they are the “last branch in town”.
Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said yesterday: “Three million people continue to rely on cash, even as digital payments become more popular.
“And many small businesses still need somewhere to safely deposit their takings each day.”
Adrian Roberts, deputy chief executive of LINK, which connects all UK ATMs, said: “Over the past decade or more, while we have seen more people choose and prefer the convenience of banking and paying for things online.
The inevitable consequence has been the reduction in the number of cash machines and bank branches.
“Cash remains vital for millions of people, however. It’s critical if other systems go down as we saw with the global technology outage last week.”
Prior to winning the General Election, Labour pledged to open 350 banking hubs over the next five years.
2026: Rise of the machines
ELON Musk claims his company Tesla will be churning out humanoid robots for other firms by 2026.
Tesla showed off its Optimus Gen 2 model in Shanghai, China, earlier this month, two years after debuting the first version designed to do “boring, repetitive and dangerous work”.
Mr Musk this week announced an upcoming Gen 3 version with vastly superior abilities and a new design.
The world’s richest person posted on his social media website X, formerly Twitter, that Tesla will make “genuinely useful” human-like robots for its car factories by next year and hopes to shift into “high production” for third parties the year after.
Spotify hits new record
SPOTIFY has posted record operating profits of £223million in the second quarter — propelling the music streaming service’s valuation to its highest level since 2021.
It suffered a £204million loss in the same period last year.
Spotify shares leapt 13 per cent to $333.42, valuing the firm at $66billion, or £51billion.
Last year’s most streamed artist was Taylor Swift, who was listened to 29billion times.
The number of paying subscribers grew by 12 per cent to 246million in the last quarter.
This came despite hiking prices for the third year in a row, from £10.99 to £11.99, which boosted revenues by 20 per cent to £3.1billion.
The firm also cut 1,500 jobs, 17 per cent of its global workforce.
Highlighting investment in audiobooks, video podcasts and AI-curated playlists, boss Daniel Ek said: “We keep on innovating and showing we aren’t just a great product, but increasingly a great business.”
Fans lift Fuller
FOOTBALL’S Euros gave a boost to Fuller, Smith & Turner as fans cheered England’s progress to the final from the pub.
The chain saw sales rise by 5.3 per cent in the past 16 weeks. It also welcomed an easing of inflationary pressures.
Pubs were expected to pour an extra 10million pints on the day of the final.
Fuller’s, which sold its brewery operations five years ago, has raised more cash from selling 37 pubs to Admiral Taverns.
It has also sold one pub, The Mad Hatter, in Southwark, South London, for £20million to reduce debts.
Compass points up
THE caterer that supplies Wimbledon visitors with strawberries and Pimms has boosted profit forecasts for the second time this year.
Compass Group said after growing recent sales by 10 per cent it now expects profits to rise more than 15 per cent.
The business said it was winning more clients both at home and in the US.
The FTSE 100 firm’s shares shot up almost 4.5 per cent to £11.90, valuing the firm at £39billion.
Hydrogen win
THE UK’s race to cut reliance on imported gas has been boosted by a world-first hydrogen trial.
It found the existing 5,000-mile gas network linking North Sea terminals to local distributors can handle a gas and hydrogen mix, or pure hydrogen.
Even a 20 per cent hydrogen blend could cut 6million tons of CO² emissions — equivalent to 2.5million cars.
National Gas said its test, in Carlisle, was a “promising picture” on how to shift to using hydrogen “while using our existing infrastructure”.
Profits plunge at TSB
PROFITS at TSB fell by almost a quarter for the half-year due to mortgage market weakness.
The lender — part of Spain’s Banco Sabadell — reported yesterday that pre-tax profits had slipped to £111.6million for the six months to June, down 24.5 per cent against the same period a year ago.
TSB blamed lower mortgage margins due to “challenging” conditions in the face of high interest rates, while the bank also paid out significantly more interest to savings account customers.
In May TSB announced that it would be shutting 36 branches and cutting 250 jobs.
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