On 14 May 2026, HM Treasury (HMT) announced an independent review (the Review) into access to banking services and published terms of reference (TORs) for this review.
Background
HMT highlights in the TORs that while access to cash is protected by legislation and the Financial Conduct Authority has responsibility and powers to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities; there are currently no existing protections for the provision of access to in-person banking services. As a result, HMT has commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services to better understand the impact of the current trajectory of access to in-person banking services.
Summary
The TORs also set out that the Review should consider whether declining access to in-person banking services is causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and should look at this primarily through a ‘customer needs’ lens.
HMT sets out that the Review will seek to answer the following questions, in particular:
- Which in-person banking services are important or essential for customers to be able to access?
- Are there groups of customers who need or require access to in-person banking services and if so, who are they?
- Is the decline in access to in-person banking services causing detriment to customers, and to how many customers? What is the materiality of the detriment caused to these customers?
As part of answering these questions, HMT makes clear in the TORs that the Review should consider both how in-person banking has evolved to the present day, as well as the likely trajectory in this area under current regulation, alongside the role of existing initiatives or emerging digital or hybrid service models to mitigate any detriment.
Next steps
The Review is being conducted on an independent basis, the Chair will provide a report and recommendations to the Government in October 2026, and the Government will publish the report following this.