Post Office Money

Post Office Money is the financial services arm of one of the most familiar names on the British high street. It is not a bank: the Post Office is a Government-owned company¹ whose branches handle everyday banking, such as paying in cash and cheques, making withdrawals and checking your balance, on behalf of nearly all UK banks². Alongside that counter service, it sells its own financial products, including savings accounts and ISAs, personal loans, insurance, life cover, travel money and international money transfers².

The scale is unusual. There are over 11,500 branches throughout the UK, 95% of UK residents live within a mile of their local Post Office and 99% within a three mile radius, and 25% of branches also open on Sundays³. The Post Office has teamed up with Cash Access UK and the main banks to offer banking services wherever you find it⁴, and a parliamentary report records that 99% of personal banking needs and 95% of business banking needs can be done through the Post Office network⁵.

What Post Office Money sells

Post Office Money covers a wide range of product types, sold under the Post Office Money and Post Office Insurance names⁶. Its savings range includes easy access accounts, fixed rate accounts and ISAs², which you can read about in the guides to savings accounts and ISAs. Its named savings products include the Post Office Instant Saver and the Post Office Online ISA.

On the borrowing side, it sells personal loans with a fixed interest rate, and you can check your eligibility without affecting your credit score². The loans and credit scores guides explain how these work. It no longer sells credit cards: the Post Office withdrew its credit card offers in June 2019⁷, so anyone searching for a Post Office credit card today will not find one, and the credit cards guide covers the wider market instead.

It also sells insurance, including travel insurance, and life cover, including the Post Office Over 50s Life Cover. Where it sells insurance, the cover is provided by an insurer rather than being underwritten by the Post Office itself. The insurance and protection guides set out how these products work and what to check before buying.

Finally, there are the money movement services the brand is best known for on the high street: travel money and the Post Office Travel Money Card, international money transfers, and everyday counter banking for customers of nearly every bank. Each of these is covered in the sections below.

Travel money and the Travel Money Card

Post Office Travel Money offers foreign currency in over 60 currencies, and the provider states that exchange rates differ online and in branch⁹. You can order euros or US dollars to collect in branch in as little as 2 hours, and orders can be collected at any branch or delivered to your home⁹. The rate you get follows a pattern the provider describes: the rate improves the more you buy, and rates online differ from those in branch¹⁰.

One feature worth knowing when you order is rate locking. When you order foreign currency, you lock in your rate at that point, and the provider states your rate will not change after you order¹⁰. That means the exchange rate moving between the day you order and the day you collect does not change what you pay, which is the main protection the ordering process gives you. How exchange rates work generally, and why the rate you see differs from the market rate, is explained in the money abroad guide.

The Travel Money Card is a prepaid card you load with currency before you travel, covered in detail on its product page. As with all travel cards, the costs come from the exchange rate when you load and any fees for withdrawals or use, and the provider's own site carries today's figures. Cash withdrawal fees vary by destination, so check the fee for the countries you plan to visit before you load the card⁹.

Sending money abroad

Post Office International Money Transfer sends money to bank accounts or for cash pick-up, in minutes, from hundreds of thousands of agent locations worldwide, and you can send from around 4,000 Post Office locations across the UK¹¹. The service covers over 200 countries and territories². In branch you pay with cash or a debit card, and a currency exchange rate may also apply¹¹.

The limits depend on how you pay and whether your identity has been verified. Before verification, you can send a smaller amount per transfer; after verification, higher limits apply for card payments and larger bank-to-bank transfers, though the provider notes the largest limits may not be available for all receiver countries and are subject to restrictions¹². There are no limits on sending multiple transfers over any time frame, though monitoring thresholds may apply depending on the country of residence and destination¹². The current figures are on the provider's site, and the full detail, including fees and limits, is on the Post Office International Money Transfer product page.

The Post Office also acts as a MoneyGram agent, which matters for some specific payments. For example, official guidance on private child maintenance arrangements notes that with MoneyGram you can transfer money through the Post Office, or online¹³. The general rules on sending money in the UK and abroad, and the alternatives, are in the money transfers guide.

How the charges work

Across Post Office Money's services, charges come from a few distinct places, and knowing which applies tells you where to look before you transact.

For travel money, the cost is mostly in the exchange rate rather than a separate fee. The provider states that the rate improves the more you buy, and that exchange rates differ online and in branch¹⁰. For international transfers, exchange rates apply, and the provider states that fees and rates are subject to change without notice, so the figure you saw last week may not be the one you get today¹¹.

For counter banking, the position is different because your own bank is in charge. Each bank sets its own limits for cash withdrawals and deposits at the Post Office, and some banks may charge for certain services, so the provider tells customers to ask their bank for details⁴. The Post Office itself advertises fee-free cash withdrawals and deposits for customers of selected banks only, with restrictions applying⁸. The Post Office Card Account, a separate account for receiving certain benefits, is free¹⁴.

For its lending and savings products, charges and returns are set out at the point of sale, and the provider's own site carries today's figures. As a rule, compare the total cost of any borrowing, not the headline rate, and check the access terms on any savings account before you commit.

Banking at the counter: what you can do

For most people, the Post Office's most useful role is as a shared counter for their own bank. You can pay in cash and cheques, get cash out from most UK personal and business bank accounts, check your balance, and even get change with some business accounts, at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK⁴. Many branches also have free-to-use ATMs inside or outside⁴.

The service exists because the Post Office has teamed up with Cash Access UK and the main banks to offer banking services wherever you find it⁴. This matters most if your own bank has closed its local branch: the counter services include withdrawing cash, paying in cheques, checking your balance or paying bills, depending on who you bank with¹⁵. A parliamentary report records that 99% of personal banking needs and 95% of business banking needs can be done through the network⁵.

Businesses can also use branches for their takings: the everyday banking service lets you pay in your takings in a secure environment, withdraw cash or get change with some accounts⁸. In December 2024 alone, branches handled over £3.7 billion in cash⁸.

During the pandemic the Post Office also launched a cash delivery service with the Department for Work and Pensions, and stated it would continue for the foreseeable future¹⁶. It also overhauled the process for setting up a permanent agent, so it can be completed over the phone instead of requiring a trip to a branch¹⁶. How current accounts work generally, and what to look for in one, is covered in the current accounts guide.

The counter rules

Cheque deposits are available for most major UK banks, and there is no limit to cheque deposits at the Post Office¹⁵. To pay one in, you need your cheque, your sort code and account number, your bank's paying-in slip (some banks print these in your cheque book) and a branded bank envelope¹⁵. You can deposit cheques, as well as cash, into personal and business accounts at thousands of branches¹⁵. The receipt will only include your sort code and account number, so keep it until the money appears¹⁵.

Beyond cheques, the same branch rules apply to everything at the counter. Each Post Office is subject to individual cut-off times, and the level of service may differ from branch to branch³. There are no coin facilities available through the Post Office³. Each bank sets its own limits for cash withdrawals and deposits, and some banks may charge for certain services⁴.

You can also pay bills at the counter: utility bills, rent and council tax, top-ups and transport tickets can be paid at 24,000 Post Office and Payzone locations UK-wide¹⁵. The Post Office Card Account, used by some benefits claimants, is free, but you cannot use it for wages or other income¹⁴. Research for Citizens Advice found many Card Account holders felt they would need face to face support to manage their money in new ways, which is worth knowing if you are helping someone move off that account¹⁷. The number of Card Account users has fallen over the years, from 2.5 million in 2014 to just under two million by 2017¹⁸.

Contacting Post Office Money and complaining

For everyday banking questions, your first port of call is your own bank, because the Post Office is carrying out the transaction on its behalf and your bank sets the limits and any charges⁴. For the Post Office's own products, such as travel money, international transfers, savings and insurance, support is available through its website's help section, which includes answers to frequently asked questions on money transfers¹², and through any branch.

Some processes have been simplified in recent years. Setting up a permanent agent for Post Office account customers can now be completed over the phone instead of requiring you to go to a branch¹⁶. For complaints about a financial product or service, the firm's published complaints process is the first step, and if a complaint is not resolved within eight weeks or you are unhappy with the outcome, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free. The consumer protection guide explains how the ombudsman works and what it can award.

One contact point deserves care: texts and calls claiming to be from the Post Office. The Post Office does not deliver items itself, it is a physical shop where you take parcels to be sent off, and it has said it would never send delivery-fee texts¹⁹. Which? research has also found the Post Office is among big brands yet to join the SMS SenderID Protection Registry, a scheme that helps block texts that spoof brand names²⁰. If a message or call seems wrong, contact the firm through details you look up yourself, never through the message.

How money with Post Office Money is protected

Protection depends on which product your money sits in, and the differences matter.

For payment and e-money services, the standard is safeguarding rather than the FSCS. Independent reporting on e-money firms notes that customers are told their money is safeguarded, but that FSCS protection does not apply²¹. Safeguarding means customer money is held separately from the firm's own money, but it is not the same as the FSCS deposit protection that covers bank accounts. Before opening any account, ask which protection applies.

For purchases, the payment method carries the protection. With push payment scams, your money is not protected unless you pay by credit card or Direct Debit²². You might have more protection if you paid for something with a credit card²³, and paying for work by credit card rather than cash can give you a route to get your money back if something goes wrong²⁴. Standing orders are different again: you are not protected if a standing order payment goes out in error, so make sure you have the correct information²⁵.

At the counter and the cash machine, simple habits protect you. Cover the keypad with your free hand whenever you use your card, to avoid your PIN being seen or captured by a hidden camera²⁶. To cut the risk of postal scams, put a 'no junk mail' sign on your door, avoid being added to mailing lists, and get your name taken off direct mailing lists by contacting the Mailing Preference Service²⁷. Fraudsters who send fake Post Office delivery texts may use any details you give away to scam you again later, often by impersonating your bank¹⁹. Official Scottish Government guidance also lists the situations to protect yourself against fraud: using online or mobile banking, shopping or selling online, sending money abroad and donating to charity²⁸.

The Post Office does not hold your money as an account provider: it offers in-branch access to its partner banks' services, and it does not offer current accounts of its own. Because of that role as a shared counter network rather than an account provider, it has not been designated under the FCA's cash access rules, and cannot be, as it is not a relevant current account provider²⁹. If something goes wrong with a financial product, the scams and fraud guide sets out what to do and where to report it.

How it differs across the UK nations

The Post Office network covers all four nations, but its footprint and how heavily it is used differ from place to place.

In Scotland, there were 1,321 Post Offices as of March 2021, a decrease of 51 from February 2020⁵. Between March 2011 and March 2021, Scotland lost 112 Post Offices to closure, a reduction of 7.8%, which represents the greatest percentage decrease across all UK nations and regions in that period⁵. Usage is high where branches remain: Consumer Scotland reported that 41% of consumers in Scotland had used the Post Office for withdrawing or paying in cash in the past year, and 23% had used it to pay bills³⁰.

In Wales, there are more than 900 branches, and over 93% of the population have a Post Office within a mile of where they live³¹. In Northern Ireland, the Consumer Council notes that Post Offices offer simple banking facilities, such as withdrawing and depositing cash and cheques, for customers of nearly all banks³².

The branch network is a core part of the country's cash access points: statistics for 2023 Q2 count 11,692 Post Office branches in that role³³, and the number of post offices was stable between 2022 Q2 and 2022 Q4³⁴. The UK Government holds the Post Office accountable for maintaining at least 11,500 branches, including requirements for 99% of the UK population to be within three miles and 90% within one mile of their nearest outlet⁵. How money matters differ across the nations generally is covered in the nations guide.