Barclays has done a U-turn and said it will now sign an agreement permitting its customers to withdraw money over post office counters.

The bank had come in for a flurry of criticism over its decision to pull out of what is known as the Post Office Banking Framework.

It allows customers of 27 other banks to use the counters to pay in and access their money.

Barclays announced earlier this month it wasn't signing up - a move which would have prevented customers from withdrawing cash from January - a decision it has now reversed after politicians and the National Federation of SubPostmasters slammed the move and nearly 20,000 people signed an online petition opposing it.

Many were anxious that with high street banks closing many of their branches, and the number of ATMs being reduced, it could leave many unable to access their money.

Barclays Group CEO, Jes Staley said: “Barclays announced on October 8 that we were changing the nature of our participation in the Post Office Banking Framework going forward, and the consequence of that change was that, from the January 8, 2020, our customers would no longer be able to withdraw cash from the post office using a debit card.

“At the same time, we announced a comprehensive package of measures to ensure that none of our customers would be without access to cash.

"We are confident that those actions would ensure that all of our customers, vulnerable and otherwise, continue to have access to cash, and we believe that our plans will ultimately expand access to cash through, for example, the free to use retailer cashback scheme we are launching.

"We remain of that view, and this was confirmed for us in thousands of conversations with our customers in the past couple of weeks.

“Our decision, however, provoked a great deal of public and private debate. We have listened very carefully to points that have been made to us by ministers in the government, by MPs, and by interested charities and consumer advocates.

“Ultimately we have been persuaded to rethink our proposals by the argument that our full participation in the Post Office Banking Framework is crucial at this point to the viability of the post office network.

“Whilst we have concerns regarding the sustainability of relying on this model in the longer term, and want to work with government and others to address the problems inherent in it, we recognise that the post office is a network valued by many communities in the UK today.

“Ultimately we have been persuaded to rethink our proposals..." - Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO

“So we have amended our position, and will now maintain a full service proposition in the post office for our customers, including cash withdrawals using a debit card, for the next three years.”

It comes after the bank confirmed it would not be closing a string of branches in the county for at least two years.

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