Metro Bank Introduces Cash Delivery Service For SMBs

Metro Bank has launched an app called MCash for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to pick up and drop off cash as needed, according to reports on Monday (Dec. 16).

The timeframe for the pickups can be from 24 hours to a week ahead of time. There are about 4.2 million SMBs in the UK that rely on having cash on hand to do business every day. Metro Bank’s customers will make about 250,000 trips to either deposit or take money out every year, an activity that totals about £30 million of deposits every month.

Many SMBs say that physically taking cash to the bank is a waste of their time, so the service can provide SMBs with a boost in productivity, according to Finextra.

“Millions of people rely on cash in the UK — and while there’s been a lot of attention on ensuring consumers can get cash, it’s equally critical that they can spend it,” said Natalie Ceeney CBE, chair of the Access to Cash Review. “Small businesses play a critical role in keeping cash viable, and we need to make it easy for them to keep banking cash, allowing them to remain flexible to consumer preference and to get on with their day-to-day business.”

There’s also the added stress of having to transport cash physically, as security issues are one of the main concerns of the endeavor. Many SMBs say feel vulnerable while transporting tender, and some say they’ve been robbed or physically harmed.

Mcash is “another example of the game-changing digital innovations that Metro Bank is bringing to the market to help give our SME customers the edge in today’s competitive market,” said Paul Riseborough, chief commercial officer, Metro Bank.

“I’ve long questioned why you can order a takeaway pizza on your mobile app, but a small business can’t get cash delivered direct to its door,” Ceeney said. “Metro Bank’s MCash service is exactly the type of innovation we need to see to tackle this issue and keep cash a viable option for millions of consumers nationwide.”