Post Office Card Accounts (Hansard, 17 December 2002)

§ Mr. Liddell-Grainger
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the PIN numbers to be used by post office cards will be on a number pad on the counter; and how partially sighted and blind people will be able to use the new system. [86562]

§ Mr. Timms
The matters raised by this question fall within the day to day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

§ Mrs. Lawrence
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to promote the use of post office card accounts; and when she expects information on the accounts to be available in post offices. [87404]

§ Mr. Timms
The post office card account is one of a range of accounts which people will be able, from next year, to receive benefit payments into. Our aim is that people should be able to choose the option which suits them best. Information about all the options is being supplied to customers by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Inland Revenue. When it is their turn to change the method of benefit and pension payments, the Government will be writing to customers with information which clearly sets out their account options and enables them to freely choose the account that is right for them. The migration programme will last two years beginning in 2003.

§ Mrs. Lawrence
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what banks and building societies have registered as Post Office banking partners; and what other banks are expected to become partners by April 2003. [87610]

§ Mr. Timms
All the major banks and the Nationwide Building Society have signed contracts with Post Office Ltd. to make their own basic bank accounts accessible at post offices. The Post Office already provides banking services on behalf of Girobank/Alliance and Leicester, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, the Co-operative Bank and the Internet banks smile and cahoot. This (paper based) service enables customers of these banks to make deposits and cash cheques at post offices free of charge.