§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what activity her Department is undertaking to publicise the Post Office card account. [133387]
§ Mr. TimmsNone. The promotion of Post Office products and services is a matter for the company. Post Office Ltd. is providing information to customers and guidance to sub-postmasters on the range of banking options available at post offices, including the Post Office card account.
§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of customers opening Post Office card accounts on the viability of sub-post offices. [133388]
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§ Mr. TimmsThe number of customers who will eventually choose to open a Post Office card account is difficult to predict, at this stage. However, the Post Office card account is only one of a range of banking options available at post offices. All the major high street banks are providing access to a basic bank account through post offices. In addition, the Alliance and Leicester, Barclays and Lloyds/TSB are providing electronic access at post offices to all their current accounts—some 20 million accounts in total. The Post Office also provides cheque based banking services for customers of the Cooperative bank and the internet banks, Smile and Cahoot. The Post Office is in discussion with the banks to modernise these services and to extend commercial arrangements to cover other financial institutions. Universal banking services, together with the Post Office's plans for an expansion of commercial banking arrangements, should lead to an increase in the number of people using post offices to do banking transactions. Wider access to bank accounts at post offices opens up a very much larger market than benefit recipients alone, and this should benefit sub-postmasters both directly and through increased footfall.