HC Deb 26 October 1966 vol 734 c170W
Mr. G. Campbell

asked the Postmaster-General why, in the Post Office booklet on a national giro, it is stated that the Postmaster-General will have to retain the right to open an account or to close one without notice.

Mr. Edward Short

The National Giro Service will provide a current account banking service and will offer its customers the right to draw Giro payment orders, which will be equivalent to cheques, and to initiate transfers to other Giro accounts. To safeguard other Giro customers and the public at large it will be necessary to prevent a person from opening an account who might use the service fraudulently or otherwise misuse the facilities provided. Similarly, it will be necessary to close any account where the account holder has been guilty of fraud or otherwise abused the service.

Mr. G. Campbell

asked the Postmaster-General why, in the Post Office booklet on a national giro, it is proposed that the minimum transfer permitted will be 5s.

Mr. Edward Short

The National Giro will not be charging for the transfer of amounts between two Giro accounts, and postage to and from the National Giro Centre will be free.

It would be uneconomic to allow Giro customers to use the service for transferring amounts less than 5s. I do not expect that this minimum will inconvenience the users of the Giro service.