Shared-branch model - a solution for countries concerned by cash-access crunch? 🏦; Do investors believe Bitcoin is already mainstream? 🤔; IoT InsurTech to go public via SPAC 🔔

Good Morning FinTech, December 20

Good day Everyone,

And happy Monday! Hope you had a relaxing weekend and your holiday mood is slowly kicking in 🎅 To make your start of the week even better, here’s a mix of 3 great FinTech stories you cannot ignore:

Shared-branch model - a solution for countries concerned by cash-access crunch? 🏦

The news 🗞 The Bank of England (BOE) has set a deadline by the end of Q1 2022 for banks to submit plans for stabilizing cash circulation.

Additionally, a slew of major banks in the UK have agreed to use shared branches in 2022, as part of a broader initiative to arrest a cash-access squeeze. The initial participants include Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide, Santander UK, Danske Bank, and TSB.

The pilot 👉 Shared branches will be run in 5 areas, adding to branches opened earlier in 3 areas through a pilot program.

• The initiative also relies on ATM provider Link, which will be tasked with assessing the cash needs of communities facing closures of branches or ATMs.

• The shared branches will also be coupled with the 2022 rollout of free-to-use ATMs in 11 communities, plus help from the UK’s Post Office to roll out “new and improved, dedicated cash services in up to 30 branches.”

The broader program was initiated by the Access to Cash Action Group (CAG), which includes representatives from several big banks.

The context 👉 The banks are banding together as the UK faces an ongoing wave of branch closures:

• 736 branches have been shuttered in 2021 and 221 are scheduled for closure in 2022.

• During 2021, closures have averaged 61 per month, a figure that is a 17% increase from the average over the proceeding six years.

• The closures build on a years-long pattern: 4,735 branches have been shuttered, or are set to be, since 2015.