Santander to close 95 branches

GeoffTF

EarthBoy said:

GeoffTF said:

Rob5342 said:

sonofmerton said:

I understand that the elderly, those that can't use the internet, are struggling. 

It must be a pretty tiny number of people now, using an aop on an ipad takes no more skill than opening and reading a bank statement sent in the post. 

I tried to teach an elderly lady to do it. Her eyesight was very poor (Age Related Macular Degeneration). 

She'd be well advised to bank with First Direct, and she could do everything over the phone.

It was several years ago. iPads were the latest thing. She did her banking over the phone or in branch. Here mobility was not good either. Being able to order online would have been more useful to her than online banking. First Direct used to market itself as a telephone bank. It is now pushing their app. It won't be long before we have threads about banks closing down telephone banking.

Scotjock

Very sad for any job losses and hopefully they look after the staff affected.

Hoenir

Olenna said:

sonofmerton said:

The ones that remain open where I live are busy. The couple that closed were usually mostly empty. You never hear stories of banks closing that were packed.

Most closures are mysteriously linked to breaks in or the renewal of leases.

Entering into a new lease means years of contracted financial committment.  Called planning ahead. No different to Boots or Mark & Spencer shutting stores. WH Smith is likely to follow soon I'd suggest. 

Exodi

GeoffTF said:

Rob5342 said:

sonofmerton said:

I understand that the elderly, those that can't use the internet, are struggling. 

It must be a pretty tiny number of people now, using an aop on an ipad takes no more skill than opening and reading a bank statement sent in the post. 

I tried to teach an elderly lady to do it. Her eyesight was very poor (Age Related Macular Degeneration). She also had very poor dexterity. She kept accidentally touching the screen at random locations. She got absolutely nowhere. An iPad is impossibly difficult to use for some people. I suggested a desktop PC with a mouse and a large screen, but she was not interested.

Haha in the past I was like Rob who thought 'just use the app, it's really not that hard' until I had a first hand experience with my 80 year old stepfather (who was the least tech-savvy person you could find). He was hospitalised and I surprised him with a tablet with a few streaming apps downloaded.

After probably an hour, I couldn't even get to the point of using any apps - he couldn't even muster basic navigation. It went something like this:

"Click the icon"
*holds the icon for two seconds, bringing up the context menu*
"No..., hold on, just tap it."
*holds the icon for one second, bringing up the context menu*
"No.. just a quick tap, like this"
*taps with his nail, causing no response*
"Don't tap with your nail, use your finger"
*pushes his finger into the screen and slides it slightly upwards, causing the screen to swipe*

^ continue this for about an hour until I throw in the towel (he couldn't unlock the tablet, he couldn't navigate, he couldn't scroll through the programs list, etc). I had been trying to explain how simple it was, then found myself having to explain how to close context menus and undo the things he'd accidentally done.

At this point I accept that there are some people that realistically will be unable to be migrated online. Fortunately he has children to help him.

That said, every time I visit a branch (because for some reason Nationwide still don't allow you to deposit a cheque online), it's mostly elderly people withdrawing £20 for some pet food or something. During Covid, I actually remember seeing banking and post office staff stood outside branches, telling a lot of people they didn't need to go in branch to take cash out and showing them how to use ATM's. I found this really conflicting to see, because if the staff were successful in transitioning these people to use ATM's, they may well be putting themselves out of a job.

There's also a secondary issue about trust (older people can be quite untrusting of technology, so may prefer to visit a branch, even if they could use an app or an ATM).

molerat

My younger than us sister in law

Won't use an outdoor cash machine, she goes into branch and withdraws cash

Won't use on line banking as it is not safe

Has accounts with 2 banks, to transfer between these accounts she withdraws cash at one and takes it 20 miles to pay into the other as they closed her local branch. Don't know what she is going to do now as one of the banks has moved its out of city branch in the business area with loads of parking, ideal for the farmers, to the city centre.

WillPS

molerat said:

My younger than us sister in law

Won't use an outdoor cash machine, she goes into branch and withdraws cash

Won't use on line banking as it is not safe

Has accounts with 2 banks, to transfer between these accounts she withdraws cash at one and takes it 20 miles to pay into the other as they closed her local branch. Don't know what she is going to do now as one of the banks has moved its out of city branch in the business area with loads of parking, ideal for the farmers, to the city centre.

Post Office?

MSE_Molly_G

Hi all, thanks for all your comments. We've now published a story on this: Which Santander bank branches are closing in 2025/26? Here's the full list – and your banking alternatives.

molerat

WillPS said:

molerat said:

My younger than us sister in law

Won't use an outdoor cash machine, she goes into branch and withdraws cash

Won't use on line banking as it is not safe

Has accounts with 2 banks, to transfer between these accounts she withdraws cash at one and takes it 20 miles to pay into the other as they closed her local branch. Don't know what she is going to do now as one of the banks has moved its out of city branch in the business area with loads of parking, ideal for the farmers, to the city centre.

Post Office?

No, you don't understand, that is not "her bank"

And besides that the queue is out the door most times as it is the only one for miles around.

ChirpyChicken

molerat said:

WillPS said:

molerat said:

My younger than us sister in law

Won't use an outdoor cash machine, she goes into branch and withdraws cash

Won't use on line banking as it is not safe

Has accounts with 2 banks, to transfer between these accounts she withdraws cash at one and takes it 20 miles to pay into the other as they closed her local branch. Don't know what she is going to do now as one of the banks has moved its out of city branch in the business area with loads of parking, ideal for the farmers, to the city centre.

Post Office?

No, you don't understand, that is not "her bank"

And besides that the queue is out the door most times as it is the only one for miles around.

she will just have to get over it and deal with it

molerat

ChirpyChicken said:

molerat said:

WillPS said:

molerat said:

My younger than us sister in law

Won't use an outdoor cash machine, she goes into branch and withdraws cash

Won't use on line banking as it is not safe

Has accounts with 2 banks, to transfer between these accounts she withdraws cash at one and takes it 20 miles to pay into the other as they closed her local branch. Don't know what she is going to do now as one of the banks has moved its out of city branch in the business area with loads of parking, ideal for the farmers, to the city centre.

Post Office?

No, you don't understand, that is not "her bank"

And besides that the queue is out the door most times as it is the only one for miles around.

she will just have to get over it and deal with it

We do keep nudging.

And as to the original post, they are closing the old Leicester Building Society branch where I got my first mortgage in 1980, still in the same spot.