Access to Cash and Counter Services in the UK: Reassessing Proximity by Reference to Travel Distances Using a Network Approach

The UK’s financial regulator is now (as of 2024) legally required by law to ensure reasonable access to banking services, in particular free-to-use cash facilities. Its obligations are based on policy set by HM Treasury regarding what is considered reasonable proximity to banking facilities for the UK population. This requirement results from extensive public and political discussions about the decline of local bank branches and other barriers to accessing cash, particularly for those who depend on it most. Policy parameters are based on Euclidean-distance buffers and are set uniformly across the UK. This study examines whether, in Great Britain, outcomes from analysis using this simple distance-based policy might overstate accessibility to cash points compared with more realistic measures that account for traveling along street networks. Comparing Euclidean distance to network-based isochrone areas indicates that the former likely overstates coverage for rural populations, but may be similar for urban populations. Analyzing whether various groups are more reliant on cash than the general population faces disadvantages, suggesting there may not be a clear overall picture. While policy thresholds for cash facility proximity might be less frequently met for those aged 65 and over, this does not seem to apply to other groups depending on cash.