Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:31 pm on 29 November 2022.
Thank you. Research from consumer champion Which? this month found that one in five people say they would struggle to cope in a cashless society, with those on lower incomes, older people and people with physical or mental health difficulties being particularly dependent on cash. Speaking here in 2010, I raised the risk management and capital adequacy requirements and regulation a new community bank will have to comply with, which an established bank or building society partner would not. In 2017, I led a debate on banking services here, which called on the Welsh Government to examine the not-for-profit community banking model. I therefore welcomed your subsequent announcement of the community bank for Wales, Banc Cambria, in partnership with Monmouthshire Building Society, subject to your repeated assurances that this would not impact on credit union services and the Post Office 'right to cash' banking framework. However, at last month's Post Office Senedd event, they were unaware of your community bank proposals and how this may impact on them. Monmouthshire Building Society has told me that it's more important to launch something that's right than to launch it quickly, that they're still working to address the gap in their provision of a current account, and that their Banc Cambria outlets will not necessarily be branches. So, in terms of access to cash, including ATMs, what, therefore, is the current position?