Bank branches closing - whose fault is it?

Thrugelmir

Jlawson118 wrote: »

Well no, I wouldn't say BACS itself is new, but the way we use our banking certainly is. Back in 1979 you didn't log into your internet banking to see if you'd been paid, and if so, transfer some of it into your savings within seconds. To do anything like that it was still a case of walking into a branch and talking to real people.

:

In the late 90's the company I worked for still issued cheques to settle trading accounts. Around 2000 a month. Likewise somebody from the office did the banking every day at lunchtime. A trip to the branch which was 4 miles away.

pinkdalek

Bank branches have been closing for 20 years at least. It is not just a recent thing.
Who is to blame? Technology and progress in the methods now consumers have to pay for goods without the need for cash.
Banks are not just about a "local" branch, they have competition from all angles and sources today. In the old days it was all about who was better RBS/Barclays/Lloyds/Nat West/Nationwide/Halifax etc but today we have so much choice not just on a high street but online - new banks such as Virgin/Monzo/Metro to name a few, no doubt the likes of Amazon/Apple could venture into banking who knows?
A branch these days is somewhere you go when things go wrong isn't it.

vikkiew

At first glance the branches that are typically being closed make sense, they tend to be small ones in the middle of nowhere. It is true these areas typically have people who more frequently require a physical branch, for a number of reasons they are less frequent users of online banking, but these are not great customers for banks. However when I see Lloyds for example paying what must be obscene amounts of rent on totally unnecessary branches such as the one on Oxford Street I lose any belief there is a sensible strategy behind the closures. I think what happens is management decides a certain amount must be saved through closures and they go after the less visible ones. The money Lloyds would save by moving the Oxford Street branch down a street or two just a hundred metres would avoid several closures in some small town.

System

Our small newsagents and local stores has fairly recently opened a PO counter. Now with the last of the banks closing the PO offer most of the services that the banks used to.

What's the point of having four banks and large premises when one counter at a newsagents can do the same thing?

Whatisinaname

I don't know why people are reluctant to believe that post offices can handle most normal bank transactions for them!

Robisere

Never had a bank in our village, but we did have a P.O./shop which closed about 5 years ago. Along with it went the only ATM.


We now have a village shop, which sells healthier food from the local farms and butchers, etc. And we have a mobile P.O. twice weekly, which carries out transactions to and from other banks for us. On the whole, we are just as well served. And my bank is TSB, 2 miles down the road in Louth. I have had very few problems with it.

Jlawson118

Whatisinaname wrote: »

I don't know why people are reluctant to believe that post offices can handle most normal bank transactions for them!

Robisere wrote: »

Never had a bank in our village, but we did have a P.O./shop which closed about 5 years ago. Along with it went the only ATM.

Like Robisere, I too live in a fairly small village, although we are fortunate enough to still have a Post Office. But when it was just a 'Post Office' on its own, I often used it for my banking needs with plenty of trust.

But around a year or so ago, this branch closed down and they moved all of the Post Office facilities into a local corner shop. And I am now quite reluctant in thinking that they can handle my banking needs. Post Office's have always been very professional and official as after all, Royal Mail is classed as being The Queen's mail. But since moving into this local corner shop, it just doesn't have that same feeling. I have since deposited money and had no trouble whatsoever. My grandma also has her pension deposited into a Post Office account and she withdraws it without an issue. But I would feel quite reluctant into using them for my permanent bank services.

If they brought an official branch back to my village, then this would be a completely different scenario

Robisere

Main site > MoneySavingExpert.com Forums > Work & Benefits > Employment, Jobseeking & Training > post office ltd and criminal record check (Page 1)


Posted 2015, but shows that all P.O. staff must undergo checks before being allowed to run a P.O. or work as staff. I believe there are heavy penalties for any fraudulent activity.

Thrugelmir

vikkiew wrote: »

However when I see Lloyds for example paying what must be obscene amounts of rent on totally unnecessary branches such as the one on Oxford Street I lose any belief there is a sensible strategy behind the closures.

Length of remaining lease will be a major factor. NatWest have relocated where I am to a far more central town position. In the process uprading the branch to the 20th century. Change is a long slow process. There'll be an undisclosed strategy in place. Which will drip feed to the media.

A_Nice_Englishman

Wouldn't it be great if customers knew which would be the last bank left in their town so they could move their accounts there to save the inconvenience of travelling and hopefully make it busy enough to be viable long term?