Royal Bank of Scotland : RBS protects right to paper statements for personal customers

The Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank NI have become the first high street banks to be awarded a 'Mark of Distinction' by Keep Me Posted.

The Keep Me Posted campaign calls on service providers including banks, utility companies and telecoms providers, to give their customers a choice in how they are communicated with. The 'Best Practice' Mark of Distinction means customers can instantly recognise when a business has made a commitment to providing its customers with paper bills and statements, without charge or penalty.

Behavioural finance research previously undertaken by the campaign found that consumers who receive financial correspondence by post are much more likely to be able to correctly assess the health of their accounts (75 per cent vs 48 per cent for those who received electronically).*

RBS's 16 million personal banking customers across the UK will see their right to receive paper bills and statements, without charge or penalty, protected. Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank NI join a number of utility companies, building societies and financial services companies who have also been awarded 'Best Practice' Marks of Distinction.

Judith Donovan CBE, Chair, of the Keep Me Posted campaign, said:

'This is a landmark milestone for our campaign. After two years of tireless effort from all of the businesses, charities and passionate consumers who support the right to consumer choice, I am delighted to award the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank NI with the Keep Me Posted campaign's 'Best Practice' Mark of Distinction. The RBS Group is the first UK high-street banking provider to join our campaign. It truly demonstrates the depth of their commitment to customer service.

'By continuing to offer paper bills and statements, these banks have given their millions of customers the right to make the best choice for them. Now, we call on the rest of the UK's providers to follow suit and do the right thing by their customers.

David Crawford, ‎ Head of Main Banking and Core Segments, Products commented:

'Putting customers first is our number one priority and that is why we let customers choose how we communicate with them.'

The Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank NI join a number of other recent recipients of the campaign's 'Mark of Distinction', including Thames Water, Bristol Water and OVO Energy.

* Research taken from Keep Me Posted 'Managing money online -working as well as we think?' report prepared by London Economics with research conducted by YouGov, January 2015