Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Charity asks banks to share premises
Age Scotland’s idea to reduce impact of closures
Age Scotland is asking banks to consider the prospect of shared branches as they respond to the issue and impact of closures.
The same suggestion was also raised by Airdrie residents at last month’s Bank of England round-table consultation event; as they prepare for the town’s Royal Bank of Scotland branch to shut its doors on May 24.
Charity representatives have also responded to a Holyrood committee enquiry on the impact of bank branch closures.
Age Scotland chief executive Brian Sloan said: “We know older people will be most affected by reduced services, as most still prefer to do their banking face-toface.
“Our research shows that 70 per cent of people aged over 65 never use online banking; members tell us they have security concerns with remote banking, miss personal relationships with staff, and many find it traumatic having to change banks when their local branch closes.
“We would urge banks to look at creative solutions to cater for all customers. One option could be shared branches, providing a convenient one-stop branch for customers, with banks dividing the costs, [ or] sharing premises with post offices or other businesses.”
Meanwhile, Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane called the Airdrie round- table “a fantastically worthwhile event”, noting in a blog that local resident s had highlighted issues surrounding age- related financial products such as insurance and mortgages, as well as branch closures.
He noted in a blog that the former “is an issue where careful thinking might be needed”, and said that the branch closures issues was “perhaps the most animated of them all at the roundtable”. Mr Haldane added: “It was pointed out that the value of banks to communities is often more than just financial; they are also important socially.
“Some of the suggestions raised by participants are worth recording. These included greater use of Post Offices to meet banking needs, greater use of mobile banks, and using libraries as a means of enabling older people to learn digital skills or access online banking.”
The value of banks to communities is often more than just financial Andy Haldane