In September 2015, an intriguing incident took place at the Walsall shopping centre in the West Midlands. A man carrying black bags entered the local NatWest branch, unaware of the unexpected turn of events that would unfold. The bags, seemingly unremarkable to those around him, gave way under their weight. To the astonishment of onlookers, £700,000 in cash spilled out.
A potentially suspicious situation, but instead of causing alarm, the branch employees at NatWest came to the man’s aid. They helped him repack the cash into sturdier hessian sacks before it was safely transported to the bank’s vault.
It was later revealed that this massive deposit was made by Bradford jeweler Fowler Oldfield, who had been depositing over £260 million of cash at NatWest branches over a five-year period. The quantities were so substantial that they filled two safes at the Walsall branch, with overflow funds requiring storage elsewhere.
Despite Fowler Oldfield’s annual turnover being around £15 million, NatWest did not flag these deposits as suspicious until 2016, when the police initiated an investigation into Fowler Oldfield’s activities.
In 2021, NatWest found itself in court facing the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FTSE 100 bank received a criminal conviction and a £265 million fine for violating anti-money laundering regulations related to these deposits.
It turned out that the vast sums were part of an alleged money laundering scheme. During the court proceedings, Clare Montgomery, the barrister representing the FCA, expressed her dismay, stating, “Someone was walking through the streets with black bin liners of cash.”
This case shed light on concerns that British banks were not doing enough to combat money laundering, especially in the realm of cash transactions.
However, amidst regulatory pressure, there are now growing fears that banks are going too far in their war against cash. The Telegraph recently revealed that NatWest is imposing new limits on cash deposits and withdrawals. This move has raised concerns that banks are pushing for a “cashless society,” potentially excluding millions of people from accessing essential financial services and sparking a political backlash over privacy concerns.
Embracing a Cashless Society
The decline of cash has been an ongoing trend in the 21st century. Digital payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay have made physical currency inconvenient for many individuals. According to data from the Bank of England, cash use in everyday transactions has rapidly declined over the past decade, dropping from over 50% in 2010 to just 15% in 2021. In the same year, nearly one-third of all payments in the UK were made using contactless methods, as reported by UK Finance.
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