"Green giros" to move away from Post Offices

The Department of Work and Pensions has announced that benefits cheques – commonly known as Green Giros - will be moved from Post Offices to PayPoint locations from 2012. In some cases the change will just mean picking up the payment from a different counter in the same shop, but it represents a loss of business to small Post Offices.

Around 350,000 people use the system each week to to receive payments by cashing a cheque at their local post office. Of these, about 60,000 users are pensioners and 38,000 are on Disability Living Allowance and could have difficulties if their only local payment location is withdrawn.