Post Offices handled £3.55 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals in September, shows the new figures released today (14).
The total cash deposits value totalled £2.65bn, a slight decline compared to this summer’s record-breaking numbers, but a year-on-year increase of 10.5 per cent. Cash withdrawals amounted to £903.92m, a 6.5 per cent rise YoY.
Demand for cash amongst Post Office customers has remained strong into the autumn months. September's figure of £3.55 billion is just short of the record-breaking £3.77 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals seen in July. This followed two consecutive record-breaking months for cash handling at Post Offices in April (£3.49 billion) and May (£3.57 billion).
Business cash deposits across the UK saw growth, reaching over £1.16bn, an increase of 7.2 per cent compared to the same period last year. Personal cash deposits across the UK exceeded £1.48bn, reflecting a significant year-on-year increase of 13.2 per cent. These increases demonstrate the ongoing reliance on cash for both individuals and businesses in navigating their financial transactions.
Regionally, there was also a strong year-on-year increase for business and personal cash deposits and withdrawals. Wales experienced the largest year-on-year increase of 7.7 per cent in cash withdrawals and 12.7% in cash deposits. In England, business and personal cash deposits reached £2.21 billion, reflecting a 11.0% growth year-on-year. Northern Ireland also experienced a noteworthy 6.8% year-on-year increase in cash withdrawals, highlighting strong cash handling activity in the region.
Ross Borkett, Banking Director at Post Office, said, "Our September figures show that demand for cash remained strong into the start of Autumn, as both individuals and businesses continue to rely on it. Many individuals continue to use cash as a trusted method for managing their day-to-day expenses, while businesses continue to rely on physical transactions to adapt to market fluctuations and uncertainties. Postmasters and their teams play a crucial role in helping small businesses thrive by offering a secure and convenient place to deposit cash takings, with many branches offering extended hours and weekend availability.”
Post Office Cash tracker data – September 2024
Cash deposits value (business & personal)
MOM%
YOY%
Cash withdrawals value (business & personal)
MOM%
YOY%
Total cash deposits & withdrawal value for September 2024
UK
£2.65bn
-1.9%
+10.5%
£903.92m
-3.3%
+6.5%
£3.55bn
England
£2.21bn
-1.5%
+11.0%
£708.70m
-3.1%
+6.6%
£2.92bn
Scotland
£175.39m
-5.6%
+7.7%
£60.80m
-4.3%
+4.2%
£236.19m
Wales
£140.84m
-4.3%
+12.7%
£71.75m
-5.0%
+7.7%
£212.59m
Northern Ireland
£127.05m
-1.3%
+3.5%
£62.67m
-2.6%
+6.8%
£189.72m
Business cash deposits
Personal cash deposits
Personal cash withdrawals
Banking Hubs
As at 16 July, 66 hubs have been opened in partnership between Cash Access UK and the Post Office. 147 Banking Hubs have now been announced by LINK with further openings planned for later this year.
Fujitsu should have shown more "remorse" since failings of Horizon IT system emerged, minister Gareth Thomas has said while claiming that all those who had applied for compensation would have received "80 per cent of the amount" by March 2025.
After an intensive year of testimony and revelations at the public inquiry, Thomas recently suggested more could have been done by Fujitsu since the truth about Horizon emerged.
“I’m surprised Fujitsu haven’t done more to indicate remorse. It was a computer system they developed," The Guardian quoted Thomas as saying.
“I’m glad they’re still working with the Post Office to make sure the current Horizon system [works], which the Post Office is still having to use while a replacement is in development; I’m grateful to them for the fact that they’re continuing to work with us.
“But clearly there were significant failings, or it would appear, at least, that there were significant failings in the computer system. And we’ll obviously wait for Sir Williams to opine in full on that issue.
"I think I’m just surprised that they haven’t … wanted to do more," he said.
At the start of 2024, Fujistu, which is forecast to have earned more than £1.5bn from the Horizon contract by the time it expires in 2025, apologised for the role it had played.
The Japanese company also said it will negotiate a compensation package with the government after the public inquiry led by the former high court judge Sir Wyn Williams has published its report.
Talking about compensation to the victims, Thomas claimed that all those who had applied for compensation would by March next year have received 80 per cent of the amount offered even if the total sum was still under dispute.
“There are a series of complex cases still to be sorted, although we have made a lot of progress in just the five months since we’ve been in government. The amount of compensation that’s been paid out has doubled since we came into office," he said.
The Post Office expects to have paid out more than £650 million in compensation to branch owner-operators by next March, and it has put aside £1bn.
Commenting on the buzz on the future of Post Office model, Thomas expressed his doubts on the proposed idea of mutualisation.
He said, “My instinct is that, one of the ways you transform the culture of an organisation like this is to give more power to those who were treated very badly in the past.
"We’ve got to think through what are the incentives that you build in to the governance of an organisation like the Post Office that really gives postmasters much more of a voice in the key decisions the board of the Post Office has to make going forward.
“Given that the Post Office has got a significant social value in that sense, I don’t think I’m as yet convinced that full mutualisation is the way forward. But how do we ensure postmasters can hold those at the centre more accountable?”
It was reported earlier that the government is looking at the future ownership and structure of the Post Office. The Communication Workers Union has proposed handing it over to branch operators, known as mutualisation.
The Scottish Government must urgently act to support the country’s struggling high streets, Labour has said, citing an analysis' findings that more than 10,000 retail jobs were lost in a year.
The data, based on the Scottish Government’s Business in Scotland report, showed that retail jobs in Scotland are at their lowest levels since at least 2010. It found there were 235,920 retail jobs recorded this year – down from 246,270 last year and 258,900 in 2010.
The drop was the sharpest in the last year. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, more than 10,000 jobs were lost from the industry – almost 1 in 20 retail jobs. In 2023 there were 246,270 retail jobs.
While there has been a shift to more online shopping, the impact of the covid pandemic can be seen in the statistics.
Between 2010 and 2020 the decline in retail jobs was around 8000 over a ten-year period. Between 2020 and 2024 however, the drop was almost 15,000 in just four years.
Scottish Labour has criticised the Scottish Government for not extending rates relief to the retail industry.
During her budget earlier this month, Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced a 40 per cent rates relief for the hospitality sector. Labour has called on her to match England and extend that tax cut to the retail sector.
Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour economy spokesperson, said “The decline of our high streets is impossible to ignore.
“The pressure on retail businesses is bad for Scotland’s economy and for local communities.
“We need a real plan to support retail and breathe fresh life into Scotland’s high streets – including short-term rates relief and a long-term plan to level the playing field between local businesses and online giants.”
Johnson said the Scottish Government can still make changes to the budget for next year to help businesses with a similar scheme.
The draft budget, presented by Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, will be debated again in the new year before a final vote in the Scottish Parliament in February.
A significant proportion of shoppers are expected to shop in person during the Boxing Day sales in a considerable rise from last year, shows a recent research.
According to a research by Barclays, Brits this year are likely to are expected to splurge £4.6 billion with each shoppers poised to spend £236 during the Boxing Day sales, suggesting consumers will be actively participating in the post-Christmas sales.
These figures are down slightly on those reported in 2023, when shoppers spent £4.7 billion during the Boxing Day sales — about £100 million more than this year. The average shopper is forecast to spend £18 less than in 2023.
However, each shopper is still expected to spend £50 more than in 2019, before the pandemic.
Researchers said that while some of this growth “will be down to inflation”, some of it can be explained by a “continued desire to use the post-Christmas sales to seek out value for money”.
More than a quarter of the British public are expected to shop in person during the Boxing Day sales, up from 15 per cent in 2023.
While some bricks-and-mortar retailers have confirmed that they will not open on Boxing Day, 26 per cent of those who plan to shop in the post-Christmas sales say they will spend the majority of their money in-store.
This is driven by a preference to see and touch items before purchasing (41 per cent) and the enjoyment of socialising while shopping (32 per cent).
High streets (33 per cent) and shopping centres (32 per cent) are the most popular destinations. Meanwhile, 17 per cent cite wanting to support their local high street, and a further 15 per cent plan to shop with independent small businesses.
A third of Britons (34 per cent) say they’d be more inclined to spend at brick-and-mortar retailers if they were offered discount codes that can only be redeemed in-store, or if they were given a free item with in-store purchases (27 per cent).
Men are expected to spend £53 more than women during the sales.
The research also showed that 24 per cent of the public “will only be buying what they consider essential items in the post-Christmas sales”.
Police are hunting for knifemen who struck at two convenience stores in the space of eight hours in Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire on Sunday (22).
According to the local reports, the first robbery took place at Tesco Express in Holly Road, Uttoxeter, at 10.40pm. A man entered the store and started threatening workers with a knife while demanding cash. The suspect then fled the scene after stealing several items.
A second raid then took place at the nearby Nisa store on Ashbourne Road in the town during early hours of Monday (23).
A knifeman again threatened staff with a knife after approaching them at the till. He fled emptyhanded from this store.
A force spokesman said: "We have launched an investigation after a robbery and an attempted robbery in Uttoxeter. Just after 10.40pm yesterday, a man demanded money from members of staff inside the Tesco Express on Holly Road.
"The suspect was carrying a kitchen knife. After taking items he left the store. Then today, at around 6.30am we received a report of an attempted robbery at a Nisa store on Ashbourne Road.
"A man went into the shop and approached the till. When challenged by two staff members he threatened them with a knife and left. No-one was injured in either incident. Officers have carried out a number of enquiries as part of our investigation into the incidents.
"We’re keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time, or those with information that can help with our investigation."
Meanwhile, Staffordshire Police's increased activities to target shoplifters this month is reflecting some positive results.
Staffordshire Police stated on Monday (23) that the targeted action saw both special constables and PCs take the lead on identifying and detaining individuals on suspicion of shoplifting offences throughout the district.
In total, goods worth £867.10 have been recovered and returned to affected stores.
Some of the positive results the team achieved include:
Recovering a total of £287.87-worth of items from a man and a woman found shoplifting from a B&M store
Detaining a man, with the help of security, and recovering £120.38-worth of stolen items found under his clothing
Arresting a man for theft from One Stop in Chasetown with property recovered
Arresting another man over the theft of £143-worth of alcohol
Issuing two banning orders and recovering £110-worth of property from two different detained men
Issuing three banning orders to three different women and recovering £208-worth of stolen items.
Officers are also continuing to carry out targeted patrols in areas where more than £500-worth of cleaning equipment was stolen from stores Chasetown, while we also responded to a small number of calls relating to anti-social behaviour and property alarms going off.
Temporary Chief Inspector Paul Finlayson, Commander of Lichfield local policing team, said: “I am pleased this plain-clothes operation has been such a success, especially in the lead up to Christmas.
“We are particularly grateful to our community partners including stores’ security staff, business owners and leaders, retail premises and the local authority, who have all supported this action.
“We will continue to run these types of operations across the district to target retail crime throughout 2025.”
Retailers across Britain have warned of potential price increases and store closures following a bleak Christmas trading period, as consumers grapple with relentless cost-of-living pressures.
Fresh data from Rendle Intelligence and Insights paints a challenging picture for UK retail in the lead-up to Christmas. Footfall in the final full week of trading was down by a significant 11.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“Super Saturday,” traditionally the year's busiest shopping day, offered little relief.
Footfall on the day was only 4.1 per cent higher than the previous Saturday and a mere 0.9 per cent higher than the equivalent day in 2023.
These lukewarm figures follow a Black Friday that saw a modest 5.5 per cent uplift in footfall year-on-year, as shoppers appeared to prioritise discounted deals over last-minute festive spending.
Diane Wehrle, CEO of Rendle, highlighted the stark reality, “The disappointing results, coinciding with news that the UK economy showed no growth between July and September, underscore the severe cost pressures faced by households amid prolonged high inflation.
“It appears this Christmas has been disastrous for retail, and a bad omen for 2025.”
Official data also showed that retail sales in the UK fell short of expectations in November despite shops starting to cut prices early as part of Black Friday discounting.
Sales volumes rose by a weaker-than-expected 0.2 per cent month-on-month in November, having fallen by 0.7 per cent in October, new data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
Early retail sales data for December showed little sign of improvement.
Meanwhile, retailers body British Retail Consortium (BRC) has also warned of “spending squeeze” in January 2025.
BRC-Opinium figures released on Monday (23) suggest that public confidence in the state of the economy nosedived in December, falling eight points to minus 27.
The public’s spending intentions, both in retail and beyond, dropped six points, with expectations of spending in nearly every retail category falling.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief executive, stated, "The weak spending intentions could pave the way for a challenging year for retailers, who face being buffeted by low consumer demand and £7 billion of new costs from the budget set to hit the industry in 2025.
“With sales growth unable to keep pace, retailers will have no choice but to raise prices or cut costs, closing stores and freezing recruitment.”