New limits on the amount of cash small businesses can deposit to banks and the Post Office (PO) to reduce money-laundering are to have a detrimental impact on cash use on high streets. 

In a message sent to customers by Barclays last week, and seen by betterRetailing, the company confirmed that from 1 January 2023, business owners will only be able to pay £1m in cash every 12 months at the PO. 

It read: “This is a new regulatory requirement that will affect all PO customers to help us, and other banks, come together to fight against financial crime.” 

In the PO’s latest cash tracker for November, the company revealed cash deposits had fallen by 2% month on month, reinforcing the impact of the new regulations.