ATCS 8.5 Relationship with the Principles for Businesses

1Designated firms are reminded that the following will continue to apply to their relationships with their customers, as appropriate, including throughout the process of planning or dealing with any relevant closures of their cash access facilities and in the delivery of any cash access services:

1. (1)

   Principle 12 (Consumer Duty) and PRIN 2A (The Consumer Duty); or

2. (2)

   Principle 6 (Customers’ interests) and Principle 7 (Communications with clients), where Principle 12 and PRIN 2A do not apply (for example, because of the type of customer).

1. (1)

   1FG22/6 (Branch and ATM closures or conversions), as updated on 11 October 2022, contains guidance on Principle 6 and Principle 7 in the context of full or partial closures of branches or automatic teller machines, and conversions of such machines from free-to-use to pay-to-use. PRIN 2A.1.17G explains the relevance of such guidance to consideration of firms’ obligations under Principle 12 and PRIN 2A.

2. (2)

   Some notification or publication requirements in this sourcebook may overlap to an extent with expectations in FG22/6. Such requirements are independent of FG22/6, but where appropriate designated firms may be able to comply with a requirement in this sourcebook and meet a potentially overlapping expectation in FG22/6 in the same communication.

1. (1)

   1FG21/1 (Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers) is relevant to designated firms’ relationships with their customers, including in the delivery of cash access services to them.

2. (2)

   For customers with protected characteristics such as physical or mental health disabilities, designated firms should also be mindful of their duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010. In Northern Ireland, where the Equality Act 2010 is not enacted but other anti-discrimination legislation applies, designated firms should ensure that they comply with any applicable legislation.

3. (3)

   Principle 12 and PRIN 2A support existing legal requirements, such as those in the Equality Act 2010 and anti-discrimination legislation in Northern Ireland, by requiring firms to monitor whether any group of retail customers is experiencing different outcomes than other customers and take appropriate action where they do. As set out in FG22/5 (Final non-Handbook Guidance for firms on the Consumer Duty), firms should be able to identify when customers with characteristics of vulnerability or customers who share specific protected characteristics, under the Equality Act 2010 or equivalent legislation, receive systematically poorer outcomes. This may indicate that the firm is not meeting the Consumer Duty for those groups or is breaching its responsibilities under legislation.