Smart buildings Take that to the bank
With bank branch closures coming thick and fast, and ATMs disappearing across the UK, the ability to access in-person banking, and even physical cash, is being drastically curtailed. Consumers, for their part, are facing a banking environment unlike anything they’ve seen in modern times. Andrew Tunnicliffe speaks with some of the sector’s key opinion leaders to fi nd out what banking in modern Britain looks like – and how shared hubs could become the answer to some of banking’s toughest questions.
oncerns that in-person banking – for generations the essence of many communities – is becoming a distant memory are not eased by news that even city centre branches are shutting their doors for the final time. The very notion that the heart of a major metropolis could be left without financial representation seems alien to customers. But across Britain today, in towns, villages and cities, it’s the new reality. “Clearly, over time we have witnessed a massive decline in the availability of physical bank branches for UK consumers,” says Jamie Evans, senior research
C
associate at the Personal Finance Research Centre of the University of Bristol. According to Evans, by 2020 approximately 20–25% of retail centres had been left over a kilometre from a branch – a body blow to the town centres they once served. “Since then,” Evans continues, “further closures have taken place and these are likely to mean either that consumers have to travel further, or have to consider switching to a bank that offers a more local option.”
At the end of 2021, TSB announced plans to close 70 branches over the coming year. Noting a marked shift to digital banking, the director of branch
30
Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
William Barton/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
