With a national network of some 8,000 rural branches Post Office Ltd is uniquely placed to support the Rural Shops Alliance, and is very pleased to do so.

Our size, product offer (over 170 products) and personal, local service means our value to communities is second to none. 97% of the UK population visit one of our branches every year - 37% of the population live in rural areas. The physical number of our branches backed by phone and the web for many products, give unrivalled national access. An indication of this reach is that 17p in every £1 transacted within the UK goes through our hands.

We recognise the degree of competition within the rural retail sector. We wish our subpostmasters– many of whom have co-located retail offers – to run successful businesses and profit from local opportunities and best practice. We see our support of RSA assisting with that.

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External customer helpline 08457 223344