The Post Office has unveiled plans to launch a Christmas Club offering customers a secure and convenient way to save for Christmas 2008, with additional membership rewards that will increase their spending power.

The club will fill a gap identified by the Treasury’s Review of Christmas Saving Schemes by Brian Pomeroy, chairman of the Financial Inclusion Taskforce, in March this year carried out in the wake of the Farepak collapse.

All funds deposited in the Post Office Christmas Club will be governed by strict e-money regulations and held in a protected account under the control of Bank of Ireland. The funds will only be accessible to Club members.

Post Office managing director Alan Cook said: “As one of the UK’s most trusted brands with an unparalleled retail network, we are responding to the need for a safe and convenient way for people to put money aside for Christmas.

“We have been working on this for many months to get the best scheme possible for our customers, to provide them with a way to save small regular amounts which ensures their cash is fully protected and looked after securely for the year until they need it at Christmas. Customers will be able to start saving money at any of our 14,000 Post Office branches from January for Christmas next year.”