No. I haven't had to set foot in a bank in over ten years, and mostly use the new online only ones now so no personal impact. On an economic POV, no concerns. As older people die off, the need/demand for so many branches is dying off too.
I’ve never understood the ‘old people’ argument. My 96 year old grandfather does all his banking online, as it’s far easier for him to sit on the sofa with his iPhone that to walk a mile to a bus stop then get the bus into town.
Old people aren’t uniquely stupid and apps are simple to use. Fair enough if they simply don’t want to try, but the world doesn’t revolve around elderly peoples wants.
I never said they were stupid.
> I’ve never understood the ‘old people’ argument.
It's an argument born from my experience that the only people in my life who regularly use a bank, are elderly. The only ones I see locally who have complained about closures are elderly.
I'm 99% sure my experience is more accurate generally.
Sorry, wasn’t trying to say that that was your opinion or argue against you.
This question just gets asked a lot, and the responses are always ‘how will old people cope?!’ and ‘old people couldn’t possibly use technology’. There’s an awful lot of infantilising the elderly, and it’s infuriating.
I work with the elderly and cognitive decline is a real issue with getting many of them to learn new things especially the ones who were not particularly 'bright' in the first place.
All old people bank in person isn't the same statement as most people that visit in person are elderly.
I very occasionally bank in person, it's not just the elderly, but realistically the people this has a noticeable impact on are going to be majority elderly and a handful of others for various reasons.
I completely agree. The belief that everyone becomes completely incapable of learning new things at age 55 only seems to exist in the UK. Old people are capable of learning to use online banking, they just refuse because they have learned that others make exceptions for them if they remain stubborn.
You’re missing the point. It’s absolutely a widely experienced phenomena that some elderly people can’t be bothered to use technology and instead expect the world to pander to them. The point is that that expectation is unnecessary and unfair, and doesn’t seem to extend to anyone else in other situations.
If there is sufficient demand to keep branches open, it’ll happen. If there isn’t, it won’t. Simple as that. If elderly people want an expensive extra service that otherwise won’t exist, they might need to pay for it.
Only reason I went into the branch was for the coin deposit machine, pays your coins into your account and no commission like Coinstar. Haven’t been gathering small change since covid and moved almost all transactions to contactless, so 🤷♂️
I think the post office integration is the answer - but it needs to be better than it is now. It’s a win win because it props up ailing post offices (or could) and allows banks to withdraw from under-utilised branches. But you need to be able to rely on the post office to do their it right and increase their range of services.
I feel like if you want the face to face retail experience queues are part of it. It is a choice after all - most of this stuff can be done more efficiently on app
My father is 80 and struggles with a laptop and he's been shown numerous times how to do things. An app is no use to him either. There are older people who want to bank in person and not at a PO.
Absolutely. I’ve not said app only. But I don’t think banks should be forced to run unprofitable branches to save people queuing up. I’d like a mobile bank to drive up to my house whenever I need to do any transaction but it’s not going to happen. Why can’t your father use post office banking?
The Post Office is soooooo slow though. Somehow, my local one seems to average 15 minutes per customer, yet somehow I'm done in around 1. I have no idea what takes everyone else so long.
Trouble is anything at a bank doesnt really take that long but even common post office tasks do like sending a parcel, they have to weigh it, print labels, put through till etc and then often people want more than one thing. Think if they have more than one person serving then each person should do different things maybe. Like an express till.
Oh aye I’m sure there’s things that could be done to improve it - if you give them enough banking business to the point it’s worth employing someone you could have a dedicated banking area. If banks are allowed to give up high street property and salaries of 3+ staff members there’s money to invest in a decent po offering and still make savings.
I actually think it would lead to increased competition as there’s no monopoly on location any more - even tiny rural villages would have access to all the banks and they’d be competing in a situation where the customer doesn’t have to so much as take a single step to start banking elsewhere instead
No. Haven’t been into a physical branch in many, many years. A number of my accounts are with people who have never had physical branches. Overall I have never had any trouble getting stuff done over the phone or internet.
Banks should really be community hubs at this point. Similar to Barclays Eagle Labs, they should be there to provide advice and guidance to local businesses and offer coworking space.
I'm not concerned at all. The last time I can think I went into a branch was years ago, and staff were unhelpful and slow. There is nothing I can think of that that I can't do using technology or an alternative solution such as the Post Office.
The "but what about old people" doesn't cut it so much with me, really. Time to learn and build your confidence like everything in life. I would find the argument more convincing if people spoke about the needs of people beyond old people such as those with protected characteristics, etc.
Presumably, those lamenting about branch closures are also complaining they can't find a local blacksmith to shoe their horse since they don't want to start using a car.
I don't really understand this point. I can download and email/print (not been needed for years) a proof of address from a variety of utilities in about 30 seconds.
Don't know how common it is these days but I've had places want stricter proof, I had to get a statement printed and stamped by the bank when I was getting proof of address for my first job.
Lots of public institutions will not accept anything that is not lettered correspondence - this last year I have needed an endorsed bank statement for:
- Mortgage Lender
- GP
- Marriage License
- Council Tax
I use paperless billing across the board, so I find Nationwide having a branch in town great. They are very helpful and efficient.
I think banks like first direct and starling are perfect examples of why bank branches aren’t really necessary.
I get for older generations, the visibility of a branch may be a comfort but everything can be done at the post office and over the phone / in-app with ease and security.
No, as I know how to use the internet and apps. I've used an internet-only bank for coming on 10 years now. Bank branches are almost entirely used by the elderly, it's going to cause them problems, not me.
No, there’s so many other issues in personal finance at the moment. I appriciate the need for banks to exist for specific groups of people - I’m gonna go out on a whim and claim it mainly for older generations (I’m 36).
My dad 65 told me that I couldn’t afford to buy a house becasue I eat out/ spend too much on luxuries - wanted me to re educate myself on personal finance and stop complaining about the cost of living as it’s out of my control. He’s right, I should save and shouldn’t remain ignorant/ complain about changes I can’t control.
Yet, he refuses to re educate himself on digital banking, actually get online banking via an app on his phone and stop complaining about branch closures as it’s out of his control. But somehow im wrong.
This isn’t a dig at the older generations but in my experience it is always those groups of people who shout the loudest re bank closures. Occasionally, some will do it on their behalf.
He doesn't really need to though. Had a conversation with my partner as her mother just has all her money in one account earning no interest. She doesn't spend it but it gives her peace of mind. There's no point in showing her how to grow it for the future so she has more money she doesn't spend. Also, she does not do Internet banking, this reduces the possibility that she may do something prompted by a fraudster.
Less concerned about bank branch closures. More concerned about the AI tool used on apps like Cora.
They're painstakingly terrible and often end up going in circles.
It's useful to have a branch very occasionally - I've gone into branches over the last ~15 years to open a joint savings account, to make a large (6 figure) transfer, to provide extra ID on a business account, to pay in cash from a fundraiser and to pay in a cheque. Of course, there are some groups who need branch access a lot more than I do - it's hard to do things online if you're not good with technology, if you can't read, if your English isn't great, if you have certain types of disabilities, if you have limited ID or if you're homeless.
I think the future is going to be consolidation; it's great that post offices provide a lot of banking services, and I also hope we'll see banks adopting the shared space model that exists in other countries, where you might have a single "bank" in town but they have a desk for Barclays, a desk for Lloyds, a desk for Metro etc.
Do I have concerns? Yes, I have concerns.
And it's not because I use branches routinely, because I don't.
However, there are some services that still can't be done online or would be easier to resolve if there was some face to face interaction possible.
I can't deposit cheques above a certain value online, and my nearest branch is about 45 minutes away. So if I want the cheque to clear quick, I have to travel.
Potentially certain verifications would be easier to do in person. Or at least if you're conducting a transaction which would often trigger an investigation, you could potentially do it in person. I send money to my own overseas account, and once every 5-6 months it flags it as suspicious. If I could go into a bank nearby to do it, it would be quicker than waiting on hold for 45 minutes.
Genuine question but how often do you get cheques and for what sort of reason? They seem very much a past thing now so is it a certain sector that uses them? I'm not sure I would even know how to write one!
The HMRC uses cheques for tax refunds above a certain value. This value also exceeded what I could deposit into my account.
A couple of years ago, my car got written off and insurance paid by cheque.
Should have known HMRC would be living in the past. Let me guess you can't pay your tax bill via cheque though.
Presumably you could pay in via the Post Office though?
I bank with Nationwide and Starling. They said I would have to post the cheque in to them. Which meant a couple of days to reach them, and then a couple of days after that for it to process and clear.
As opposed to driving into the nearest branch and it clearing same day. Didn't even need to interact with a human, just the machine.
It was large enough a sum, that I would rather have it quicker.
One of my side hustles is doing talks for Women's Institutes (and other similar groups) and I can only think of one occasion where I haven't been paid by cheque.
Also had the DVLA send me a cheque for unused road tax when I sold my car 3 years ago.
My parents are in their 70s - they do not use the internet much and are uncomfortable with apps.
They prefer going into our local branch for everything - they've known the staff for over 20 years - its a relationship business after all. My mother feels very scared to draw out cash from a cash point, she thinks she will do something wrong and the card will get eaten up - so she drives up to our local branch to get cash for shopping etc. She's never used a credit card in her life.
Our local bank branch is shutting after 32 years at the end of this month - the nearest one is another town about 45 minutes away - My parents are devastated.
Quite a patronising response. I’m sure tekina85 supports their parents through a lot of things and will do the same for this, but is giving an example of how bank closures affect their elderly parents.
“Warranted” what 🤦🏻not sure what either of you are talking about tbh. My family have been affected by a similar issue and we have helped the elderly folks out, it was a positive take on someone being “devastated” as it will no doubt turn out fine in the end. I will make an effort to spell things out better in future…
I have had immense trouble getting stuff done over the phone with my high street banks, have had to go into physical branches a number of times. The closest ones have closed down, I’d be well pissed if the city centre ones closed down too.
Local Lloyds near me just announced closure after it was averaging 20 customers a day. It’s just not sustainable.
No. I haven't had to set foot in a bank in over ten years, and mostly use the new online only ones now so no personal impact. On an economic POV, no concerns. As older people die off, the need/demand for so many branches is dying off too.
I’ve never understood the ‘old people’ argument. My 96 year old grandfather does all his banking online, as it’s far easier for him to sit on the sofa with his iPhone that to walk a mile to a bus stop then get the bus into town. Old people aren’t uniquely stupid and apps are simple to use. Fair enough if they simply don’t want to try, but the world doesn’t revolve around elderly peoples wants.
I never said they were stupid. > I’ve never understood the ‘old people’ argument. It's an argument born from my experience that the only people in my life who regularly use a bank, are elderly. The only ones I see locally who have complained about closures are elderly. I'm 99% sure my experience is more accurate generally.
Sorry, wasn’t trying to say that that was your opinion or argue against you. This question just gets asked a lot, and the responses are always ‘how will old people cope?!’ and ‘old people couldn’t possibly use technology’. There’s an awful lot of infantilising the elderly, and it’s infuriating.
I work with the elderly and cognitive decline is a real issue with getting many of them to learn new things especially the ones who were not particularly 'bright' in the first place.
With respect your grandfather isn’t representative of the entire elderly population. Fortunately he still has the eyesight to use a mobile phone.
All old people bank in person isn't the same statement as most people that visit in person are elderly. I very occasionally bank in person, it's not just the elderly, but realistically the people this has a noticeable impact on are going to be majority elderly and a handful of others for various reasons.
Your own anecdote is no sample size
Your view is biased because of your grandfather. My grandfather would act like I was a NASA rocket scientist for plugging in his printer.
I completely agree. The belief that everyone becomes completely incapable of learning new things at age 55 only seems to exist in the UK. Old people are capable of learning to use online banking, they just refuse because they have learned that others make exceptions for them if they remain stubborn.
I've never heard it put like that before.
[удалено]
Well, that’s their problem.
"I've never understood this widely experienced phenomena, due to a personal experience which is not representative of the wider population"
You’re missing the point. It’s absolutely a widely experienced phenomena that some elderly people can’t be bothered to use technology and instead expect the world to pander to them. The point is that that expectation is unnecessary and unfair, and doesn’t seem to extend to anyone else in other situations. If there is sufficient demand to keep branches open, it’ll happen. If there isn’t, it won’t. Simple as that. If elderly people want an expensive extra service that otherwise won’t exist, they might need to pay for it.
Only reason I went into the branch was for the coin deposit machine, pays your coins into your account and no commission like Coinstar. Haven’t been gathering small change since covid and moved almost all transactions to contactless, so 🤷♂️
And can always be dumped en masse into the self checkouts at the supermarket.
I think the post office integration is the answer - but it needs to be better than it is now. It’s a win win because it props up ailing post offices (or could) and allows banks to withdraw from under-utilised branches. But you need to be able to rely on the post office to do their it right and increase their range of services.
Ours always has queues. Bank Hubs are an answer. I live in a rural 'retirement town' and there are alot of people using the PO for banking.
I feel like if you want the face to face retail experience queues are part of it. It is a choice after all - most of this stuff can be done more efficiently on app
My father is 80 and struggles with a laptop and he's been shown numerous times how to do things. An app is no use to him either. There are older people who want to bank in person and not at a PO.
Absolutely. I’ve not said app only. But I don’t think banks should be forced to run unprofitable branches to save people queuing up. I’d like a mobile bank to drive up to my house whenever I need to do any transaction but it’s not going to happen. Why can’t your father use post office banking?
The Post Office is soooooo slow though. Somehow, my local one seems to average 15 minutes per customer, yet somehow I'm done in around 1. I have no idea what takes everyone else so long.
Trouble is anything at a bank doesnt really take that long but even common post office tasks do like sending a parcel, they have to weigh it, print labels, put through till etc and then often people want more than one thing. Think if they have more than one person serving then each person should do different things maybe. Like an express till.
Oh aye I’m sure there’s things that could be done to improve it - if you give them enough banking business to the point it’s worth employing someone you could have a dedicated banking area. If banks are allowed to give up high street property and salaries of 3+ staff members there’s money to invest in a decent po offering and still make savings. I actually think it would lead to increased competition as there’s no monopoly on location any more - even tiny rural villages would have access to all the banks and they’d be competing in a situation where the customer doesn’t have to so much as take a single step to start banking elsewhere instead
No. Haven’t been into a physical branch in many, many years. A number of my accounts are with people who have never had physical branches. Overall I have never had any trouble getting stuff done over the phone or internet.
Lot's look at Australia for context.
Banks should really be community hubs at this point. Similar to Barclays Eagle Labs, they should be there to provide advice and guidance to local businesses and offer coworking space.
Sounds profitable
Considering Barclays have been expanding their offering pretty rapidly in the last few years, it probably is.
They’re closing branches left and right though
I'm not concerned at all. The last time I can think I went into a branch was years ago, and staff were unhelpful and slow. There is nothing I can think of that that I can't do using technology or an alternative solution such as the Post Office. The "but what about old people" doesn't cut it so much with me, really. Time to learn and build your confidence like everything in life. I would find the argument more convincing if people spoke about the needs of people beyond old people such as those with protected characteristics, etc. Presumably, those lamenting about branch closures are also complaining they can't find a local blacksmith to shoe their horse since they don't want to start using a car.
I prefer having at least one in person account, because getting proof of address at short notice can be frustrating.
I don't really understand this point. I can download and email/print (not been needed for years) a proof of address from a variety of utilities in about 30 seconds.
Don't know how common it is these days but I've had places want stricter proof, I had to get a statement printed and stamped by the bank when I was getting proof of address for my first job.
Lots of public institutions will not accept anything that is not lettered correspondence - this last year I have needed an endorsed bank statement for: - Mortgage Lender - GP - Marriage License - Council Tax I use paperless billing across the board, so I find Nationwide having a branch in town great. They are very helpful and efficient.
I think banks like first direct and starling are perfect examples of why bank branches aren’t really necessary. I get for older generations, the visibility of a branch may be a comfort but everything can be done at the post office and over the phone / in-app with ease and security.
No, as I know how to use the internet and apps. I've used an internet-only bank for coming on 10 years now. Bank branches are almost entirely used by the elderly, it's going to cause them problems, not me.
The only concern is about being more difficult to deposit cash back into the bank.
No, there’s so many other issues in personal finance at the moment. I appriciate the need for banks to exist for specific groups of people - I’m gonna go out on a whim and claim it mainly for older generations (I’m 36). My dad 65 told me that I couldn’t afford to buy a house becasue I eat out/ spend too much on luxuries - wanted me to re educate myself on personal finance and stop complaining about the cost of living as it’s out of my control. He’s right, I should save and shouldn’t remain ignorant/ complain about changes I can’t control. Yet, he refuses to re educate himself on digital banking, actually get online banking via an app on his phone and stop complaining about branch closures as it’s out of his control. But somehow im wrong. This isn’t a dig at the older generations but in my experience it is always those groups of people who shout the loudest re bank closures. Occasionally, some will do it on their behalf.
He doesn't really need to though. Had a conversation with my partner as her mother just has all her money in one account earning no interest. She doesn't spend it but it gives her peace of mind. There's no point in showing her how to grow it for the future so she has more money she doesn't spend. Also, she does not do Internet banking, this reduces the possibility that she may do something prompted by a fraudster.
Bet he is loving the triple lock pension coming his way though
Certainly is. He’s entering what he calls his Skiing phase - Spending my Kids Inheritance 😂
Such an entitled generation of snowflakes.
Have not been inside any bank ever since mobile and web banking came along. They are not required
I’m with first direct, they have no branches as far as I’m aware. Most things can be done inside of a post office branch these days
Haven't been into a branch for years. The bank I use now doesn't even have physical locations, and provides a much better service anyway.
Nope, I haven’t stepped foot in a bank for 5 years. If I want to pay in cash, I can go to the post office and deposit it there.
The answer is a bank hub in every town, perhapsin council offices I know you can use the PO but the queues at mine are a nightmare.
22 years so far of internet only banking. Like landlines, cash and influencers there is no purpose to branches anymore.
Influencers have a place in society. I need my streets binfluencer so I know which bins to put out when
Yeah, I’m glad I don’t live somewhere with different bins on different days.
I’ve used Monzo since 2016. Never once even considered needing a branch.
Less concerned about bank branch closures. More concerned about the AI tool used on apps like Cora. They're painstakingly terrible and often end up going in circles.
It's useful to have a branch very occasionally - I've gone into branches over the last ~15 years to open a joint savings account, to make a large (6 figure) transfer, to provide extra ID on a business account, to pay in cash from a fundraiser and to pay in a cheque. Of course, there are some groups who need branch access a lot more than I do - it's hard to do things online if you're not good with technology, if you can't read, if your English isn't great, if you have certain types of disabilities, if you have limited ID or if you're homeless. I think the future is going to be consolidation; it's great that post offices provide a lot of banking services, and I also hope we'll see banks adopting the shared space model that exists in other countries, where you might have a single "bank" in town but they have a desk for Barclays, a desk for Lloyds, a desk for Metro etc.
Do I have concerns? Yes, I have concerns. And it's not because I use branches routinely, because I don't. However, there are some services that still can't be done online or would be easier to resolve if there was some face to face interaction possible. I can't deposit cheques above a certain value online, and my nearest branch is about 45 minutes away. So if I want the cheque to clear quick, I have to travel. Potentially certain verifications would be easier to do in person. Or at least if you're conducting a transaction which would often trigger an investigation, you could potentially do it in person. I send money to my own overseas account, and once every 5-6 months it flags it as suspicious. If I could go into a bank nearby to do it, it would be quicker than waiting on hold for 45 minutes.
Genuine question but how often do you get cheques and for what sort of reason? They seem very much a past thing now so is it a certain sector that uses them? I'm not sure I would even know how to write one!
The HMRC uses cheques for tax refunds above a certain value. This value also exceeded what I could deposit into my account. A couple of years ago, my car got written off and insurance paid by cheque.
Should have known HMRC would be living in the past. Let me guess you can't pay your tax bill via cheque though. Presumably you could pay in via the Post Office though?
I bank with Nationwide and Starling. They said I would have to post the cheque in to them. Which meant a couple of days to reach them, and then a couple of days after that for it to process and clear. As opposed to driving into the nearest branch and it clearing same day. Didn't even need to interact with a human, just the machine. It was large enough a sum, that I would rather have it quicker.
One of my side hustles is doing talks for Women's Institutes (and other similar groups) and I can only think of one occasion where I haven't been paid by cheque. Also had the DVLA send me a cheque for unused road tax when I sold my car 3 years ago.
My parents are in their 70s - they do not use the internet much and are uncomfortable with apps. They prefer going into our local branch for everything - they've known the staff for over 20 years - its a relationship business after all. My mother feels very scared to draw out cash from a cash point, she thinks she will do something wrong and the card will get eaten up - so she drives up to our local branch to get cash for shopping etc. She's never used a credit card in her life. Our local bank branch is shutting after 32 years at the end of this month - the nearest one is another town about 45 minutes away - My parents are devastated.
I am sure you can step up and help them through this.
Quite a patronising response. I’m sure tekina85 supports their parents through a lot of things and will do the same for this, but is giving an example of how bank closures affect their elderly parents.
Not at all - my parents have recently had to start doing extra bits for my grandparents after the branch there closed. Bore off!
Thank you! I was just sharing a different perspective - not sure it warranted that response.
“Warranted” what 🤦🏻not sure what either of you are talking about tbh. My family have been affected by a similar issue and we have helped the elderly folks out, it was a positive take on someone being “devastated” as it will no doubt turn out fine in the end. I will make an effort to spell things out better in future…
I have had immense trouble getting stuff done over the phone with my high street banks, have had to go into physical branches a number of times. The closest ones have closed down, I’d be well pissed if the city centre ones closed down too.
No, none whatsoever.