West Dunbartonshire MP John McFall has thrown his weight behind the Post Office’s bid to continue to provide its Card Account service.
Mr McFall has written to a number of concerned constituents who have raised the matter with him, telling them: “I would like you to know that I strongly support the Post Office’s bid to continue providing the Card Account service.”
He added that the POCA is “vital to the future of the Post Office and to local communities”, and that, in many areas, the POCA brings in up to one-fifth of the revenue of the local Post Office.
Mr McFall said: “It also generates indirect revenues for the Post Office—because many customers withdraw money using their POCA, and then use this to pay their bills and buy items.
“Of all the people who visit their local Post Office every day, no fewer than one in four go there to access their POCA. If these visits were to stop, Post Offices across the UK could stand to lose much of their £2 billion a year in retail revenues.
“The POCA does not only benefit the Post Office, but it also benefits millions of account holders. It provides a simple, secure way for people to receive their benefits and pensions.”
The MP said that in his role as chair of the Treasury Committee, he has “campaigned tirelessly to ensure that everyone has access to basic financial facilities like these.
“It is important that people be able to access this vital service at their local Post Office.
“The POCA is extremely popular. More than four million people across the UK have Post Office Card Accounts. And these are happy customers—98% of people who have a Card Account said they were satisfied. Over 750 million payments have been made into these since the POCA began—that’s eighteen million payments every month.
“Post Office closures are already affecting many communities in Scotland, including my own constituency where there have been a number of closures. There can be no doubt that, if the POCA is taken away from local Post Offices, further closures will ensue.”
He added: “The Government is legally obliged to allow other organisations, as well as the Post Office, to put in bids to take over the POCA service. They must assess all of these bids fairly.
“However, Ministers have said that the Post Office bid is a strong one. I think it is vital that we campaign vigorously to ensure that the Post Office wins the contract to continue providing the POCA service.”