Neil Brocklehurst has today been appointed by the Department for Business and Trade as CEO of the Post Office and on his first day he has announced a new banking deal for postmasters.
The new five-year partnership agreement with the UK’s banks and building societies underpins access to cash for millions of individuals and small businesses at Post Office branches from January 2026 until December 2030.
Brocklehurst joined the Post Office in June 2024 and has led the business as acting CEO since September 2024 and is said to have already made significant changes within the business.
To coincide with his first day as CEO Brocklehurst will later today (30 April) lead a first joint postmaster, strategic partner and Post Office colleague ‘Town Hall’ setting out the benefits this new banking deal will have for postmasters and partners.
Prior to joining Post Office, Brocklehurst spent 15 years at Camelot Group in various roles before becoming CEO of its UK business.
Known as ‘The Banking Framework’, and first established in 2017, the new banking deal secures the vital role of postmasters up and down the country in providing face to face banking services to their communities until at least 2030.
It enables customers of 30 banks and building societies to use their local Post Office to withdraw and deposit cash, make balance queries and deposit cheques.
For local businesses in particular, having a nearby Post Office that allows them to deposit daily cash takings is essential, and ‘Banking Framework 4’ provides the confidence that this will continue.
Post Office’s extension to its partnership with the banks and building societies is integral to delivering the ‘New Deal for Postmasters’ that was detailed in its November 2024 Transformation Plan, which strengthens postmasters voice in the day-to-day running of the business and increases the remuneration they receive.
As part of the framework, Post Office is improving the remuneration postmasters receive for handling cash transactions and is also making a major investment in the automation of cash services in-branch to reduce postmasters’ cost-to-serve and to give customers the experience that they have come to expect from modern retailers.
Brocklehurst, said: “Post Office is an organisation that needs change, and I am proud to have been appointed the new CEO with a mission to deliver this. I am determined to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’ that drives up postmasters’ incomes and strengthens their voice in the day-to-day running of the business.
“This new, five-year agreement with banks and building societies ensures our branches remain vital hubs for cash access and provides certainty for businesses and individuals nationwide when it comes to their everyday banking. This agreement also means that we will be able to increase the income postmasters receive for delivering banking services, a key pillar of our transformation plans.
“We’ve worked hard to secure this new agreement through reinforcing just how important the framework is to communities across the UK and why Post Office, and our postmasters, are the best fit to continue to provide cash services, securing a commitment from the banks that is substantially longer than those previously agreed.”