THE Prime Minister today announced a much bigger role for the Post Office in providing financial services, to increase the accessibility of reliable financial products for consumers and small businesses.

Gordon Brown said: “I want the Post Office to play a much bigger role, bringing banking services back to the heart of people’s communities.”

Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, said: “The Post Office is one of the country’s great assets. It is a trusted institution that offers face-to-face contact in the heart of local communities.

“The time is right to build on these strong foundations and substantially increase the banking services it offers.

“Today’s announcement will help secure a viable future for the Post Office network. It is also excellent news for consumers and small businesses – giving people access to a full range of banking products at an institution they trust and value.”

The Post Office is one of the UK’s fastest growing financial services providers and the country’s number one foreign currency provider.

Today’s announcement is intended to be the next step towards turning the Post Office into a leading player in financial services, offering a full suite of products across its network of 11,500 branches.

To achieve that, the Government will be consulting to help the development of new banking products and services from the Post Office which meet the needs of families.

The announcement is aimed at reinforcing the Government’s “commitment to a secure and sustainable future for the Post Office”, following last November’s decision to award it a new contract for the Post Office Card Account and investment of up to £1.7 billion to 2011.