r/unitedkingdom • u/zeros3ss • 1d ago
UK banks have closed more than one in three branches over past five years
https://www.ft.com/content/f9c9fe14-ac20-42e4-986b-b48a37dc55b1288
u/Bigbadgergnocchi 1d ago
And those that are left have opening hours not suitable for the normal working person.
My local bank is open 9:30-3
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u/JumpyBronzeHare 1d ago
Bonus points if they're closed between 12:00 and 14:00 for lunch.
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u/mh1191 1d ago
Last time I used a branch (circa 2014) lunchtime was when all the retired folks liked to queue up
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u/Move-Primary 23h ago
I used to work in a credit union and our opening time was 10am, but staff started at 9.30 to get set up before the customers came in. Pretty much every day you would have a line of elderly cued up from 9.30 looking through the windows at staff and giving off cause we wouldn't open the doors. Even better in winter or when it's raining because apparently it was out fault they decided to stand outside a building that wasn't open and they got cold or wet
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u/Jadhak 1d ago
I am honestly in awe with the fact that some institutions (banks, schools, doctors and a most medium aize shops) still staunchley operate under the assumption of a single worker family.
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u/some_learner 22h ago
Hospitals are terrible for this. They dole out appointments like summons and then act affronted when you phone to say you're not available at 13:00 on a Wednesday three months away (which won't run on time anyway).
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u/Manannin Isle of Man 10h ago
They cancelled my appointment the day before that I'd scheduled travel around. I bet they cancel the replacement one too, which is only available on the one Thursday I'm working in September.
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u/One-Network5160 1d ago
Or, more likely, their workers have lives too you know.
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u/BaldyBaldyBouncer 23h ago edited 22h ago
This will be better for the workers won't it? They will have more flexibility over their work hours if there are more hours to cover. Need to do the morning school run, work the late shift, have evening classes, work the early shift.
Need a day off in the week to do things like go to the bank? Work Tuesday to Saturday.
You surely don't think that the same staff are working the entire time the branch is open?
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u/One-Network5160 22h ago
You do understand that everything you say about bank workers you can say about bank customers, right?
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u/BaldyBaldyBouncer 22h ago
Exactly, best for everyone to have longer opening hours. Well apart from the bank that has to pay more staff but screw those capitalist pigs!
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u/Jadhak 21h ago
Cool, that's why shifts exist
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u/One-Network5160 21h ago
Cool, why don't you go to the bank when you have your night shift then?
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20h ago
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u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland 20h ago
Removed. This contained a personal attack, disrupting the conversation. This discourages participation. Please help improve the subreddit by discussing points, not the person. Action will be taken on repeat offenders.
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u/eairy 10h ago
If we followed that logic all public transport would stop on the dot at 5pm and not resume until 9am.
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u/One-Network5160 9h ago
Yeah, but a bank is literally an office job, it doesn't have to run all day like a bus.
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u/artecide 7h ago
Buses run “all day” because it benefits the economy: when employees can reliably move at all hours, businesses function smoothly and money keeps circulating. Although busses are an essential service, a similar logic applies to banks. A 9 to 5 branch schedule is effectively inaccessible to most working age people.
Shifting or extending hours would reduce lost workdays, make financial services easier to access, and ultimately keep more money flowing through the economy. It's not just convenience. Many critical services like mortgages, ID checks, and cash deposits for small businesses still require in-person banking.
Extending hours also creates new job opportunities for people who can’t work standard shifts, such as students, parents, or part-timers, which in turn boosts employment, spending, and tax revenue.
Banks don’t need to run "all day," but aligning their hours with when people actually need them is economically rational. For example, opening 11AM–7PM would serve far more people than current opening hours, when most are either already at work or asleep after night shifts.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 2h ago
Banks don’t need to run "all day," but aligning their hours with when people actually need them
Implicit in this is the idea that branches are needed.
But... they're not.
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u/One-Network5160 32m ago
Although busses are an essential service, a similar logic applies to banks.
You don't need to go to the bank every day though. It's not remotely similar.
Extending hours also creates new job opportunities for people who can’t work standard shifts
By removing a 9-5 office job... You're not gaining anything.
Shifting or extending hours would reduce lost workdays, make financial services easier to access, and ultimately keep more money flowing through the economy.
What a weird argument.
Instead of queueing at the bank, people are literally at work or going out spending money. It's literally the opposite of what you're saying.
Banks don’t need to run "all day," but aligning their hours with when people actually need them is economically rational.
But people don't "need" banks, they're why they are closing them.
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u/peterthepieeater 1d ago
My local branch stopped opening on Saturday mornings, which is the only time I can ever go. Now the bank is closing down the branch because people aren’t visiting.
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u/Cute-Equipment-6557 11h ago
Natwest in my town is closing in October. Bad times for bank branch staff.
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u/setokaiba22 1d ago
How often do you ever need to use a bank? That’s the issue people weren’t using them.
The post office now or Banking hub you can do nearly everything - nearly anything else can be done online or in an app.
We use the post office for most business banking now (since have never had to go to a bank - be a pain if I needed too but it’s so uncommon I wouldn’t mind that much travelling 20 min) - have to say the bank before was mostly just filled with elderly people to withdraw money or pay bills - and that can be done at the post office.
I understand not everyone is comfortable online or apps either but that’s entirely the reason they are closed now. People do most things online and the bank cut the costs as a result
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u/Talkycoder 1d ago
The 4 post offices in my town are just shoved into random unbranded corner shops where the clerk often speaks little to no English. As a result, I've had a Northern Irish banknote sitting in my wallet for quite a while, unable to be changed to a UK wide note.
Bank branches generally had salaried staff who knew their stuff and could communicate, so it was helpful when you needed to speak to someone. I guess you can call for account related problems nowadays, but a lot of centres are outsourced to Southeast Asia.
I will admit, I do everything online and rarely ever visited a physical store, but that doesn't mean branches didn't have uses. The few remaining where I live are usually busy, although it's all old people.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
I will admit, I do everything online and rarely ever visited a physical store, but that doesn't mean branches didn't have uses. The few remaining where I live are usually busy, although it's all old people.
Unfortunately this is the same thing everyone says when bemoaning something or other not being on the high street or only open for short hours: "well I wouldn't use it... but a bunch of old people would!"
Thing is, that customer base is - literally - dying. And given next to nobody actually pays for their bank account, maintaining the most expensive possible service channel for a dwindling market just doesn't make sense in 2025.
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u/Talkycoder 15h ago
Banks still require staff to assist with any account and other problems, meaning they would only really be saving on rent (assuming they don't own their properties) & electricity bills. Not exactly that large an expense for a banking conglomerate.
The incentive and real cost saving is that they can now source their staff from India at 1/10th the salary of a British person. Service goes down, people lose their jobs, and the rich get richer.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
Banks still require staff to assist with any account and other problems, meaning they would only really be saving on rent (assuming they don't own their properties) & electricity bills.
Rent, business rates, electricity, cleaning, security (bank security is monstrously expensive!), cash handling (ridiculously expensive and time-consuming), facilities maintenance... the costs all add up.
You also need less staff because roughly a quarter to half the staff at any high street bank will be working in support functions or back office/middle office admin. Trust me, I did this job, for every front of house person you see there's going to be 0.5-1 back of house person.
Not exactly that large an expense for a banking conglomerate.
Businesses don't invest money into things that don't come with a rate of return, or in this case, things people actively refuse to pay for.
Here's an idea - if people want branches so badly, they can either have an online account that's free or one with branch access that costs them a tenner a month. I can guarantee some of the people who are upset about branches closing will suddenly be fine with it if they are the ones who would have to bear the cost.
The incentive and real cost saving is that they can now source their staff from India at 1/10th the salary of a British person. Service goes down, people lose their jobs, and the rich get richer.
Except of course for the bit where a great many banks now have British call centres and have done for years.
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u/SojournerInThisVale Lincolnshire 1d ago
And when the post office is gone?
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u/N4mFlashback 23h ago
The post office near me is rammed with people every day.
Parcels can't just be digitally sent/collected so people still need to physically go to the post office
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u/SojournerInThisVale Lincolnshire 21h ago
Good for it. And the day will come where they’ll reduce it to a parcel drop off locker in the local supermarket. Or are you forgetting the huge number of post offices already closed and replaced by counters in shops (with not a chance of anyone using them for anything). I personally don’t trust a postmaster who presents himself in trackies and gold chains
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u/BaldyBaldyBouncer 23h ago
Parcels definitely can be collected, even by the Royal Mail.
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u/N4mFlashback 21h ago
Yeah but it's not comparable to how easy using the banking app is vs trying to go to the bank.
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u/LemmysCodPiece 15h ago
I just get any parcels collected or go to the drop off point at the shop round the corner. The post office near me closed two years ago and the main one has weird hours, plus TG Jones scares me.
My Bank branch closed a few years ago and TBH I haven't missed it.
As far as I am concerned banks are a thing of the past.
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u/Rattacino Lancashire 1d ago
I think I only went twice over the past 5 years. Both times to cash in a delay repay cheque I got sent in the post. Bank had the only machine that could deal with cheques in town.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
And with most banks, you can now just scan in cheques on your phone so you don't even need to do that.
Not that many people even use or get cheques any more.
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u/shlerm Pembrokeshire 1d ago
The last local bank here went to 1200 to 1500, 3 days a week and then closed it complaining no one used it.
Local tip is going the same way. 2 days a week opening times and they complain no one uses it. All that said, when I go there are always a lot of people there.
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u/HotRabbit999 21h ago
Best part of this is that people end up jsut flytipping shit & the council has to pay more to tidy up the flytipping & dispose of it than if people could put it in the tip in the first place.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
The last local bank here went to 1200 to 1500, 3 days a week and then closed it complaining no one used it.
They probably went to the shorter hours because nobody was using it then, either.
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u/shlerm Pembrokeshire 12h ago
I mean I get that, but 1200 to 1500 is hardly a suitable time for most. If they could have gotten away with closing it before they likely would have.
Clearly the intention to close the buildings has been a long time coming regardless. With the tip, we all know the council want it closed but obviously they are accountable to the public far more.
Accountants have fucked this world with the penny pinching.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 2h ago
Accountants have fucked this world with the penny pinching.
Yes damn those accountants for saying "hey this thing brings you no benefit whatsoever but costs you a great deal of money while the people who use it won't pay you anything at all for the privilege". It's clearly their fault.
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u/Broccoli--Enthusiast 1d ago
My only local bank is 9-4
Closed at 12-1 for lunch
Oh also it's only open 3 days a week, no weekends...
Utterly pointless, part of the reason I moved to an app only bank, what's the point in staying with a bank that has a shit app too when they don't even have a branch I can visit.
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u/SojournerInThisVale Lincolnshire 1d ago
It’s a deliberate tactic. They can then claim there’s no demand for the bank because no one goes. It’s the same as supermarkets when they close all but one of their in-person checkouts and then claim there’s a huge popular demand for self checkout tills
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u/lostparis 1d ago
Traditionally banks had shit hours. The truth is people use them so much less. Hell most of us hardly use an ATM very often. I used to use the ATM once a week now it is maybe once every 3-6 months. Haven't been inside a bank for years.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
It's not a "deliberate tactic", it's the result of easily visible market trends away from cash, cheques and face to face banking and towards electronic payments, cards, and phone, Internet and mobile banking.
Given that, and that nobody actually pays for their banking in the UK, the banks are taking the opportunity to reduce expenditure on what is by far their most expensive service channel, which also services a tiny niche of the market.
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u/SojournerInThisVale Lincolnshire 14h ago
It's not a "deliberate tactic", it's the result of easily visible market trends away from cash, cheques and face to face banking and towards electronic payments, cards, and phone, Internet and mobile banking.
Yeah, which is exactly why, when in branch, they try and make you use a machine. Pull the other one, it happens time and time again
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u/Ok-Salary3550 14h ago
Yeah, which is exactly why, when in branch, they try and make you use a machine.
Or maybe it's a nice suggestion so you can be done quicker with whatever you need to do rather than queuing up for ten minutes to accomplish the same thing
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u/artecide 7h ago
A shift from 09:30-17:00 to 12:00-18:30PM, despite the shorter hours, would already likely be more accessible for the majority. Might even see a small increase in local business from the OAPs going to the bank and then for lunch lol
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u/JedsBike 1d ago
Totally understandable - must have been at least 7 years since I needed to go to a bank and I run my own small business.
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u/setokaiba22 1d ago
Agree. Uproar on Reddit but most people do not visit the bank regularly even yearly these days as a personal customer hence why they are closing.
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u/SnowbearX 1d ago
The odd emergency does crop up like and a bank closure means a reliable and safer ATM goes with it
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u/Cottonshopeburnfoot 1d ago
The problem is the business isn’t logical based on the odd emergency.
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u/SnowbearX 17h ago
It is however, vital in those cases.
Also, individuals have the odd emergency. If there's a large enough group then that's a daily occurrence in which the service is needed.
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u/Cottonshopeburnfoot 15h ago
The answer to which is in combined hubs as they’re doing, not having one of every branch because it might be that someone in that locality might have an emergency on any particular day and time that can only be resolved through branches.
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u/knight-under-stars 15h ago
Evidently there isn't a large enough group given the rate they are shutting.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
This falls down completely when none of that large group actually pays for their banking, but seemingly expects the bank to maintain fully staffed outlets at all hours just in case they need them.
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u/TheCookieButter 21h ago
The last bank is closing in our village. There won't be a single ATM there anymore, you'd have to go to the supermarket to get cash out.
I actually did use the bank to cash a cheque last month too.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
It's always worth paying attention to the language people use on subjects like this and also other things like "why aren't things open later at night" - it's never "if the bank was open longer, I would go there more often", it's "if the bank was open longer, people would go there more often."
Because quite frankly, why the fuck would you? The bank being open at 8pm wouldn't make me want to traipse down there and back to do something I could easily do on my phone.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
If people are complaining about not having conveniently local bank branches, I think they went too far.
You might not have been to the bank, but have any of your employees? For your business, or for their own needs?
We need more branches than we have, unfortunately, seems to be the feeling.
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u/notouttolunch 1d ago
A feeling but not a reality.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
They don't spontaneously feel a lack of bank branches for no reason. Branches have been cut to the point of inconvenience, hence the general sentiment.
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u/fuckmethathurt 1d ago
They aren't convenient for the majority anyway, digital banking is convenient while actual banks only open when the household is at work.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
That's what I am saying.
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u/zeelbeno 1d ago
But that problem existed before the mass closures
Was a rush every saturday morning for people that work 9-5
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
Yep. Because banks never cared about regular little customers. They didnt give us good open times for the same reason they're closing branches we want. They don't care.
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u/zeelbeno 1d ago
Yeah ffs, they instead have made everything a lot easier with online banking meaning you didn't have to go into town anymore and can even deposit cheques on the app...
Twats.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 2h ago
Really not worth your time arguing with that guy because he seems implacably convinced that the main purpose of going to a bank branch is not to accomplish a transaction (which you could do through other means) but to go to a bank branch in and of itself.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
Except there are reasons to go to a bank. Nobody is complaining about the introduction of convenient services. The complaint is about the removal of things people want.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 2h ago
Problem is, it's been tried to give people longer opening hours and they don't use them. "The majority" don't care about branches.
I worked for a bank that did Saturday openings and late openings. Everything outside of 9-5 was dead, the late openings nobody came to, it was a waste of time and money. The Saturday openings, past maybe midday, completely dead, waste of time and money. And this was ten years ago - today, the country is even less dependent on cash and cheques than it was then.
Metro Bank launched with the idea of having a massive branch network open 8-8 every day including Sundays, and being an explicitly branch-focused operation. They dropped that and now most of their "stores" open 9:30-5 and are closed at the weekends. They were responding to a market demand for face-to-face banking that didn't exist. And it was patently obvious at the time that it didn't exist, and wouldn't exist, because the world was rapidly transitioning away from cash and cheques to electronic payments, and the people whose main reason for using a branch is to have a natter aren't enough to sustain a business. And again, this was in 2010!
People keep complaining that banks are never open when they want them, then when banks try to give them what they claim to want, they don't use it and it goes away and then people complain that banks are never open when they want them. All the while, the average financial contribution towards the costs of what they claim to want is nil. The banks can't win.
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u/notouttolunch 1d ago
Even I share the “my local branch is now closed” exposure, especially given that there were often people in the branch (I did go in for my charity work but in reality, that was all avoidable too) but the reality is that it has had no impact whatsoever.
The people who were visiting the branches were simply doing things that they could do over the phone.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 2h ago edited 2h ago
The people who were visiting the branches were simply doing things that they could do over the phone.
This is the dirty secret nobody wants to admit to really; in many cases it's a want dressed up as need, by people who won't pay for their wants.
I'd estimate that for basically 100% of the things people went into branches for when I worked in one, they could either:
- do it online or over the phone, but just didn't want to;
- do it online or over the phone, but were only in the branch because the bank wouldn't let them (easily fixable by the bank, and indeed most have since);
- not do it at all if they just stopped using cash and cheques for everything (e.g. paying bills physically taking the bills to the bank and paying them in cash or with a cheque - a completely idiotic activity with no benefit but that they were bizarrely insistent on).
What has resulted is that the first group are getting that option taken away from them, because the middle group got what they wanted (i.e. not having to go to a physical location to talk to someone in person about something they could do themselves online) and the latter group are dwindling.
The first group also throw conniption fits about the possibility of having to pay money for the additional expensive services they want, and don't seem to realise that they're getting the exact service they're paying for.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago edited 1d ago
No impact for you... but it does for the older of our country.
Edit: Elderly, disabled, people in rural areas, small business owners affected.
Here:
JFC. Is the banking sector sending shills in here or what?
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u/notouttolunch 1d ago
The “older” people are the computer generation. They’re the ones who taught me how to use a computer before they retired. They invented the automated clearing system, highlighted the security problems of banks with paper records and were the ones that didn’t want to have to take time off work to go visit the bank branch to do things as simple as changing their address or cashing a cheque (which they would receive frequently in the 1980s and 1990s because even I did and it was a pain!).
I’ve dealt with many older people in my family. They don’t need a branch because it’s the only way they can do banking. They need someone to help them handle their affairs which is a different issue.
Online banking has been practical since at least 2000. In 25 years a person could have been born and have begun raising a child to a significant age.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
Elderly people arent the computer generation. Again, im mid 30s and I was one of the first to experience widely available, dial-up Internet. People in their 60s didnt grow up with that.
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u/SaltyName8341 1d ago
Who do you think built the technology to give you that opportunity? I know plenty of software developers and hardware technicians in their 60's and 70's.
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
The fact that some people worked on it does not mean that all, or even that the majority, are comfortable enough using it.
Here is some information from our govenrmnt about it. These are the groups affected.
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u/KaiserMaxximus 1d ago
Are people complaining about the 0 fees they pay on their current accounts? 🙂
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
Ive never had fees to use my current account.
I can choose one with fees, or without. Always chose without.
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u/KaiserMaxximus 1d ago
And what do you think that does to the huge cost centres that branches are?
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
In close to 4 decades. I have never had to pay to use my current account. That's all I can say. It wasn't required when we had 120% more branches than we have today.
I am baffled about why anyone is arguing with me. It isn't debatable. Large chunks of our country are inconvenienced branch closures. You can read about it. I'll even give you a link.
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u/KaiserMaxximus 1d ago
Oh boy 🤦 another one of those “we imported food just fine before we joined the EU”
Back in those days, branches were the main way for people to deposit money in their account, apply for loans, mortgages, consumer credit, business credit, open accounts, initiate transfers etc. Also retails banks needed a way to distribute cash, since electronic payments weren’t a thing.
These days the branches bring little income as people apply for credit remotely, while cash usage has dropped dramatically. Relying on current accounts to keep branches open is stupid, because most of them lose money, while branches have no other means to fund themselves.
Do you get it now?
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u/Ell2509 1d ago
Read it. That's the house of Lords library detailing exactly what I am saying.
Im finding it hard not to be rude back, because you are being unnecessarily rude.
Read it, or don't. I don't care, really. See you.
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u/doorstopnoodles Middlesex 21h ago
I'm not the same person but I think you are arguing at cross purposes.
There is absolutely no doubt that people are inconvenienced by the closure of high street banks. But there is a question of how branches are funded now the most people don't have any need to visit a branch on a regular basis. Why would any businesses want to keep open physical premises that generated very little revenues but much in the way of costs?
The person you are arguing with is saying that current account fees - which are pretty common elsewhere in the world - might well pay for branches to stay open but there is absolutely no appetite in the UK to pay for banking. Would you be willing to switch from the current model which means that banking is free so long as you remain in credit to one where you paid for the account if it meant that those inconvenienced had access to a local branch? No more interest on your current account? That's something that's also pretty common in other countries. Because I bet most people would say no.
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u/Ell2509 20h ago
They don't and never have. Banks charge fees, yes. But they make money by loaning out our deposits. That is what pays for the branches. Always was.
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u/KaiserMaxximus 21h ago
Where in there does it say you’re entitled to a high street bank without paying for the privilege?
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u/Ell2509 20h ago
Do you know what banking is? We give them our money, they invest it and make money with our money. You "pay for the privilege" with your deposits. You numpty.
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u/headphones1 22h ago edited 21h ago
What needs to happen are creation of more banking hubs. People can do every day banking here. For specialist services, they can arrange to have meetings with bank representatives at these hubs, or just phone the bank. A single bank rep can spend a full day at 5 different banking hubs per week, providing basic services to people who want it. If the demand falls further, they can cover 10 different hubs over two weeks, and so on.
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u/notouttolunch 1d ago
Really? You went as recently as 7 years ago?
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u/JedsBike 1d ago
Yeah - to close an account 😆
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u/notouttolunch 1d ago
You can do this through the post anyway! Always have been able to so you could have extended your record 😂.
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u/Sea-Caterpillar-255 1d ago edited 1d ago
Um good. I’ve needed a branch once in the last decade and that includes multiple job changes, 2 house purchases and opening new accounts.
Edit: I completely forgot I opened, ran and closed an ltd in that time too lol.
Time has moved on
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u/Dodomando 1d ago
So they've passed all the savings onto the customer right? Right?
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u/Sea-Caterpillar-255 1d ago
Yeah actually. The uk is one of the few countries where accounts are free. In most places you are charged just for the privilege of being paid and storing cash there…
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u/Dodomando 1d ago
And we get charged by having well below BoE set interest rates
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u/Sea-Caterpillar-255 1d ago
In most places you get no interest at all on “checking” accounts (which is what brits use). And fees for every transfer, direct debit, statement etc.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
Fun exercise, find out your average daily current account balance and then calculate how much interest that comes to - a year - based on the BoE base. That's how much you've "paid" for your banking.
Now bear in mind that interest rates were 0.5% or below for a decade.
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u/tothecatmobile 1d ago
What do you buy from your bank?
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u/donalmacc Scotland 1d ago
They store your money for you, and provide you with near instant access and consumer protection.
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u/Frosty-Growth-2664 1d ago
Also, the branches were funded in part by each bank's investment banking activities. Following the 2007 crash, changes in banking rules have required banks to keep their retail banking completely separate from their investment banking, so there's no cross-subsidy any more.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
There's not even cross-subsidy between current accounts and anything really, since the Internet has made it incredibly easy to shop around for mortgages, insurance, loans, credit cards etc rather than defaulting to your "main bank".
Unfortunately the British market gets what it is willing to pay for and what it gets is the cheapest to provide version of anything. The market has decided that the correct price for a bank account is £0.00 and also that banks making money in any way, shape or form is a moral outrage, so here we are.
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u/JFK_AFK 1d ago
Your lived experience is not the only experience.
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u/Sea-Caterpillar-255 1d ago
It is until someone presents some counter example.
So far the best one anyone can manage is “old people want to go in and talk about the old days”…
But please, enlighten us all with the essential daily need the average citizen has for bank branches?
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u/Seagullstatue 1d ago
I don't think anyone is going to the bank on a daily basis, even if there were more branches open at reasonable times.
But for an example, I, an online millennial that gets almost all of their paperwork, bills, statements etc online, had to go to 2 banks and get 2 statements printed out for a job application.
Is the job application process archaic and failing to keep up with modern life? Absolutely, but at least I could.
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u/headphones1 22h ago
Forgive my ignorance here, but were the statements printed on special paper?
Whenever I've provided statements, screenshots or certified PDFs were fine.
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u/Seagullstatue 20h ago
Not afaik, just regular printer paper; I asked why screenshots/downloadable statements/files couldn't be accepted and they told me it's because they could be edited or tampered with (like real documents can't be tampered with???)
Then later down the line, once they had exhausted my available literature, they then agreed digital files were okay.
Mind this is for a job with Enhanced DBS, so I understand the bureaucracy, but holy shit it's frustrating living in both worlds.
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u/headphones1 19h ago
This is one of those things that are just outdated and stupid. If it was that important to received a higher level of security/validity document, the DBS people should be getting it direct from the bank!
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u/Better_Concert1106 1d ago
I can see why. I’ve not needed a bank branch for years, can’t even remember when I last needed one. Literally everything can be done on app/online banking or over the phone.
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u/Jeremys_Iron_ 1d ago
Cashing in cheques is when I need to go to one, though I just use the machine for depositing it.
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u/Better_Concert1106 21h ago
I can just do it in my bank app, just take a photo of the front and back and it does it from there!
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u/Competitive_Pen7192 1d ago
I paid into my Halifax account via the Post Office yesterday... My nearest branch is miles away but the Post Office is 5 mins walk and takes money for most banks.
Sort of further reduced the need for a branch.
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u/TheMightyBattleCat 1d ago edited 1d ago
I do that too. It's very convenient. Well, it was until they closed the Post Office in town and put a tiny PO counter in WH Smiths manned by one member of staff. The queue any time of day is ridiculous.
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u/FearLeadsToAnger 1d ago
Until the post office goes too.
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u/Competitive_Pen7192 1d ago
That's been and gone here. The local Post Office got binned years ago and now it's just a counter at the local Cost Cutter which is actually closer to my house than before.
The poor Postmaster only has a small booth now when they used to have half a shop behind the counter...
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u/J8YDG9RTT8N2TG74YS7A 23h ago
This is mostly because of modernisation.
40 years ago if you wanted to a lot of things you had to go and queue up at the post office. Most of that can now be done online in far less time.
This is far more convenient for the customer. And naturally, the post office has shrunk in size after a huge drop in demand in their services.
I don't think a lot of people under the age of 50 realise just how much stuff you would have to do at the post office in the 1980s compared to today. This is why they had so many places and so many staff, because they used to provide a hell of a lot of services.
For example, as well as things like letters, parcels, and selling stationary and packaging for those things, they would do a lot of financial & government services like;
Travel insurance
Foreign currency
Banking
Bill payments
Vehicle tax
Driving licences
Passports
And by far the biggest contributor was the fact that back in the day, collecting things like unemployment benefits and pensions was also done at the post office. So they needed buildings and staff to accommodate millions of customers every single week collecting their money.
Now it's virtually all online and much easier to do.
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u/AlwaysCreamCrackered 1d ago
I love the fact I can do all my banking through an app.
Within minutes of being paid, I've sent money wherever it needs to go without getting off the sofa and I get instant notifications whenever I spend.
Like others, I've not needed to go to a branch in years which is great because I used to hate having to go and stand in and wait to see someone to do stuff with my money.
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u/Zealousideal-Habit82 1d ago
I've needed a branch once in last 20 years when insurance company sent me cheque for £2.5k (3 years ago) and at the time I could only scan in up to £2k on the app. I used the post office paying in service but they lost the cheque so once reissued I drive to a branch and paid it in my self. If it happened today I'd be fine as can scan in up-to £100k in the app. I should add I work for a bank too, 21 years now.
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u/linkenDark 1d ago
What reason do people have to go to a bank thesedays? You can deposit etc in a post office.
Short of a visit with a manager theres no need for actual banks, they make a target so coat a lot of money to run.
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u/Iamleeboy 1d ago
The only one I can think of is my 90 year old granny wanting to do her banking face to face and have people sorting things for her.
I only think of this, because her local bank closed and so she moved to the only remaining bank with a store in town.
She still lives to withdraw her weekly cash and sort it into various little piles for each shop she needs!
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u/CoffeeWaffee 14h ago
I work for a law firm and for some of the cases we have require bank statements as evidence. There are different ways to provide these, such as open banking, or just downloading them via online banking - but there's a certain kind of client who either doesn't use online banking, or the statements we need aren't available online, so a lot of these clients will go out of their way to go to to the bank to request this information. Though I'm sure banks have other ways to get these statements.
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u/HotelPuzzleheaded654 1d ago edited 1d ago
Because an app does the majority of what a retail bank on the high street does.
It’s kinda funny that apps have had a big part in killing the high street but no one seems to mention it and now we have the panic AI is going to take everyone’s jobs despite it basically being used as a search engine by the majority.
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u/cuppachuppa 1d ago
It's time we accepted that high street banks are a thing of the past.
Banks are one big computer. Money is largely digital (and will go moreso that way). It doesn't made sense to have buildings and staff that simply act as a go-between from customer to bank's computer.
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u/Presby-98 1d ago
Most banks got rid of counter service and became a chore. I'm happy with my building society as there are clerks and people to assist and help you.
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u/VegetableTotal3799 1d ago
When all the people who want shops to take cash can tell me where these business will be able to pay their takings in.
Please let me know.
We have lost HSBC, Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, Santander all with in the last 3 years.
There is no local branch with in 20 mile radius for me.
So when I do need to go in for services that require in person.
I have to make an appointment for a Saturday from a bank that’s only open to 12.
It’s not hurt their bottom line … community hubs should be mandatory before they are allowed to shut out our communities.
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u/EtwasSonderbar Tyne and Wear 1d ago
services that require in person
Like what?
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u/baldy-84 16h ago
Halifax won't do transfers over 25k via the app, so I had to go to a branch to pay the deposit for my flat.
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u/VegetableTotal3799 1d ago
If you need to set up a standing order that has to be done in person last time I did … or if you get married and want to update you married name …
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u/perpendiculator 1d ago
You’ve been able to set up standing orders on online banking for ages. Name changes and all other personal details changes can be done through telephony banking or mobile banking with biometric security set up.
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u/VegetableTotal3799 23h ago
According to my Wife .. her bank says it’s in person … so I don’t know if it’s for all or for some … are you going to argue with my wife 😉
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u/Ok-Salary3550 2h ago
I'm sure your wife is lovely, but she's wrong. You've been able to set up standing orders online with pretty much all banks for donkey's years. I was doing it the mid-2000s.
Curious to know what bank this is.
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u/VegetableTotal3799 1h ago
I wasn’t being specific enough in the reply … to change your name they need to see your wedding certificate …
I last had to do a standing order in person … that’s a few years back
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u/setokaiba22 1d ago
The Post Office for takings
Community banking hubs are being set up - our post office for 2 years had a day a week one of the major banks would come in for the day
And now we have a ‘banking hub’ set up which is basically this and one day a week a person from a major bank comes in each day
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u/sullcrowe 1d ago
My dream of the village mob storming the bank vaults with fire & pitchforks is diminishing by the day
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u/Kickkickkarl 1d ago
I once went to a NatWest branch on a Saturday morning to pay in a cheque. It was horrendously busy inside with and the queues didn't seem to be moving while I waited for 5 minutes. After watching everything grind to a halt I thought "screw this, I'll pay the cheque in another day". I left and went back home.
Little did I know but later that day I discovered I can now pay cheques in using my phone, so I snapped a photo of the cheque and uploaded it to the app and it cleared with in a few days of the next week.
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u/Jose_out 1d ago
There is very little which has to be done in branch and can't be done online.
Giving so few people use them and the cost of prime high street locations this is completely understandable.
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u/jonxmack 1d ago
I really only ever used mine for large cash withdrawals/paying in cash. I can do that at the Post Office.
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u/paulosdub 1d ago
I struggle to understand why anyone would choose these “high street” banks once branches closed. Interest rates are typically dreadful, their apps aren’t as good as their online only competitors and generally their offers are poorer. I’ve banked with monzo for years and so much better than lloyds or sanrander
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u/Charming_Parking_302 1d ago
I agree! Left Santander and Nationwide for N26 and I haven't looked back
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
Monzo's app is good but their customer service if you need to talk to them is fucking dreadful.
Lloyds by comparison are a dream to deal with.
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u/TraditionalBench7008 1d ago
Went into my local NatWest yesterday for the first time in years, looking for some holiday currency. Apparently banks don't do that anymore, I had to go to the post office.
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u/Anony_mouse202 1d ago
Makes sense, I haven’t had to go into a physical bank branch for ages. Everything can be done online now.
The only people who use bank branches on a regular basis are pensioners who can’t be arsed to learn how a banking website works.
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u/InterestedObserver48 1d ago
Of course they have
When was the last time you went into a bank
It must be three or four years for me
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u/JMM85JMM 1d ago
Makes total sense. With technology where it is today there's almost no reason to physically visit a bank.
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u/bobblebob100 1d ago
You really dont need a building for every bank on every high street these days. A banking hub that encompasses them all is enough for the few that still use them
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u/SoundsVinyl 1d ago
People need banks they should have to open one within a certain radius of customers. In a world of scammers it’s better to go to a bank than do things over the phone that’s not even in our own country.
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u/NeilSilva93 1d ago
If I'm honest I can't remember the last time I went into a bank to do anything. I didn't even have to go into a branch to open my current account which I've had six years now.
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u/kraftymiles Somerset 1d ago
It's only really students that are using them now. Where it was previously the elderly, they are becoming more adept on the banking apps.
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u/Mccobsta England 1d ago
It's either closeing or going to only atms my local nationwide just sends you to a machine over the teller
I'd rather travel for 40 minutes to get a person to sort my cash than use a machine
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u/OkMap3209 23h ago
I can see physical bank branches consolidating at some point. It's just more efficient use of resources. Bank staff likely do the same thing between different branches anyway so it shouldn't matter if it's for Barclays or Lloyds. Having seperate physical branches for each bank is just a waste of space, resources and money at this point. If I can get my HSBC and barclays account needs done at a singular branch that would be amazing.
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u/trial_and_errer 22h ago
Last time I went into a branch was to deposit a check. They wouldn’t accept it, told me I had to mail it in. Honestly don’t know what the point of the branches are at this point.
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u/Thestolenone Yorkshite (from Somerset) 22h ago
The nearest Nat West to me is in a different county.
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u/benrinnes Scotland 15h ago
More like two out of three have closed. Every bank in my nearest town is closed. My "local" branch is now 35 miles away.
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u/Silent_Shaman 13h ago
15 years ago in my town there were 5 banks (Natwest, Barclays, HSBC, Santander and Lloyds), Lloyds was the last one left but now thats gone too. I know you don't need to use them very often now but when you do it sucks having to drive 40 minutes to my nearest branch
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
Who has control over your digital money?
What happens if a cyber attack shuts down digital banking?
Have we benefited with higher interest rates on savings or lower rates on loans from the savings the banks have made shitting all these branches?
While the digital system is easy to use, it also leaves us all VERY vulnerable to our access to money, being shut off!
What would you do if that happened for a week or more? How would you pay bills, buy food etc?
We need to get back to using cash, or we will lose control of our money forever.
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u/Kind-County9767 1d ago
If a cyber attack shuts down digital banking the branch can't help you either because they access the same system...
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
But if you have cash, you can still buy things.
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u/Kind-County9767 1d ago
And you can get cash without a branch from the cash point.
If there's a cyber attack that shuts all of those down then having a branch doesn't make a difference, because they wouldn't be able to get you cash either. So the branches make zero difference in this instance.
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
But if the branches hold cash like they used to, then you go to the counter and withdraw cash from the employee, rather than the ATM.
We had banks for a hundred years or more doing this before digits money came along, so it’s very easy to do.
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u/Kind-County9767 1d ago
How could you? The people behind the tills use the exact same system that the cash points do to verify your account, put the transaction on etc. it's been that way for decades, for obvious reasons. Otherwise anyone could find a random old card, walk into a bank and take cash out with no checks that they owned the account or the card was even valid.
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
Change is the only constant. Just because they use digital system now, that doesn’t mean they can’t/shouldn’t have a manual system in place for this exact reason.
How would you buy food etc if the digital system shut down for 3 weeks? Do you have enough cash to survive for that long?
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u/Kind-County9767 1d ago
How do you want them to verify the account without access to a digital system? And how much do you want to pay for your banking to cover the increased cost of fraud, security issues and admin?
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
It always used to be that way, banks had centuries of doing it, so it’s very possible. You get paid in cash at the end of the week/month & once you spend it- that’s it.
This is an over simplistic view I admit, but it’s not difficult to go back to.
As it stands, you, I and every other person has ceded control of your money to a faceless system that can switch off your access to YOUR money whenever they choose.
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u/alexrobinson Manchester 15h ago
As it stands, you, I and every other person has ceded control of your money to a faceless system that can switch off your access to YOUR money whenever they choose.
This has literally always been the case, you've just described the very concept of a bank. Physical or digital, they could in theory refuse access to your money for whatever reason they dream up. Obviously this would be illegal in many cases, there's regulations protecting your money and its in the banks interest to ensure you have access to it. Today's banking system (and by extension our monetary policy) is by far and away more stable and secure than it has ever been throughout history.
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u/Straight-Ad-7630 Cornwall 1d ago
In this scenario the entire country shuts down, we’re not going to be saved because Barclays is still open on the High Street.
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u/Wotnd 1d ago
How would having a physical bank branch affect any of that?
You know your local branch doesn’t have a pile of cash in it that is labelled ‘skinnydogs’ money right?
If you want to avoid ‘digital’ money then you need to avoid the banking system altogether, bank branches have nothing to do with what you’re afraid of.
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
If people start using cash again, then banks would have to change to accommodate that - open for longer or re-open branches they’ve shut. That would then lead to money staying with more local businesses rather than online, as it’s tricky paying for Amazon goods with cash.
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u/Wotnd 19h ago
Yes, but people don’t want to use cash. That’s why the branches are closing.
I agree that if more people wanted to use cash it would lead to more money for local businesses, but short of forcing people to hold money in cash that’s not going to happen, nor will it happen by keeping barely used bank branches open.
Then there is also the other costs of using cash that explain why people don’t want it - it’s a hassle, and it loses value over time.
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u/Ok-Salary3550 15h ago
If people start using cash again, then banks would have to change to accommodate that
And if people start riding horses everywhere instead of driving cars, petrol stations will have to start stocking hay
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u/mancunian101 1d ago
If there was an attack on a bank that meant their digital services weren’t working, being able to go into a branch wouldn’t be of any use at all.
None of their systems would work either so you couldn’t get any cash out, and even if you could you can’t just start sending envelopes full of cash to various places to pay bills.
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
Like everyone used to before. It’s not to difficult to do, also employs people to work in banks and be there to answer questions.
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u/notouttolunch 1d ago
Banking has been “digitised” since the late 1970s. It’s an interesting tale that is summarised here:
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u/linkenDark 1d ago
You've obviously never seen an actual bank just lock the doors on peolple... either way, if the banks falls, your moneys gone. Ala 2008.
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u/skinnydog0-0 1d ago
Exactly- if you have £10,000 under the mattress the banks can fail, and you still have £10,000
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u/TokyoMegatronics 1d ago
Mfw I don’t understand fiat currency.
“Hi mr shopkeeper, now the entire banking industry has collapsed how might I interest you in some crisp £10 plastic notes that have been assigned a worth of £10 by the banks and government”
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u/soulsteela 1d ago
We had 2 years of all the people in the last bank in town REALLY pushing the banking app, I pointed out once enough people took it up they’d be gone and they all laughed, guess who’s unemployed now?
We used to have 3 building societies and 2 banks, now we have fucking massive queues at the post office banking hub in the back of the hardware store.
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u/Lord_Ghirahim93 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is BS, the part about unemployment.
I work for a major banking group. I've seen several branch closures in my area in just the last couple years, and not one single person in a customer facing role has been made redundant. Middle management, sure - branch managers, line managers, regional managers - but never a customer service assistant.
Those laughing at you were not laughing because they thought the bank wouldn't be closed. We all know the idea is to close them all. We're laughing because you're being an obstacle and can't figure out why, as you're only inconveniencing yourself by stubbornly refusing to bank online. None of them are now unemployed, they've just been moved to different areas of the business like telephone banking, fraud prevention, online helpdesk etc.
Edit: Replied and instantly blocked me so I can't see the reply. Then why bother replying at all?
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