UK Finance and the largest retail banks and building societies have made five commitments to continue to preserve access to cash for consumers and businesses over the long term to provide certainty that cash access will be available for individuals and businesses to both withdraw and deposit cash, now and in the future.

Our response is reflective of these five commitments and agrees that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should perform the role of the lead regulator for monitoring and enforcing requirements on access to cash. It also highlights the requirement for a central body which needs to be accommodated in the legislation; that further thinking is required on how the geographic requirements will be set and how they will change over time and, that the universal service obligation needs to be delivered in a cost-effective way and does not contribute to existing inefficiencies or lead to market distortions. Understanding the needs of local communities and vulnerable customers is critical and learning from, and building on, the work of the Community Access to Cash Pilots will also be essential.