The Cash Action Group and LINK have announced that 13 new banking hubs will be created across the UK, with four in Scotland.
This the total number of banking hubs to 25, with 10 due to open their doors within months.
The new Scottish hubs will be in Brechin, Forres, Carluke and Kirkcudbright.
The first hubs were piloted last year in Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire and Rochford in Essex, and have proved popular, with usage more than doubling since they’ve opened.
These two hubs have already had approaching 60,000 customer visits and transactions worth £16m have taken place since they opened.
The shared branch service operates in a similar way to a standard bank branch. The hubs feature a counter service that will be operated by staff from the Post Office, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments can carry out regular banking transactions.
There are also private spaces where customers can speak to someone from their own bank for advice and support about more complex issues. Each of the banks involved will be providing staff on rotation, so there are trained specialists from different banks available on different days.
John Bachtler, chair of the Cambuslang Community Council, explained: “When the last bank branch closed, people could no longer just pop into town and go into the bank.
“Parts of the community like the elderly and financially vulnerable lost an essential service - they had to travel and then do their shopping in Rutherglen - it also hurt the high street and the small businesses which had nowhere to bank their takings.
“The banking hub is the centre of our community and it’s bringing life back to the high street and crucially helping people and businesses with their everyday banking needs.”
A further 12 communities will also pilot new cash services, which will be rolled out more widely if they prove successful. This follows the successful Community Access to Cash Pilots in 2021 which, as well as creating the concept of a banking hub, led to the national rollout of ‘cash at the till’ cashback.
This was first offered by PayPoint and is now available at more than 8,000 convenience stores across the UK. Since launching last year, more than £10m has already been withdrawn through PayPoint alone, with use of the service growing every month.
As with banking hubs, cashback has proved particularly valuable to those on tight incomes, with the average amount withdrawn around £15, compared with the average ATM withdrawal of £80.
The 10 banks involved in the programme are also now establishing the Banking Hub Company to provide these shared cash and banking services.
The company will be chaired by Natalie Ceeney, who chaired the Access to Cash Review and the Community Access to Cash Pilots. The company will be fully funded by the banks, with plans to support hundreds more communities over the coming years.
The banks involved include: Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, Danske Bank, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group, Santander UK, TSB and Virgin Money.
The Financial Services and Markets Bill begins the Parliamentary process in early September and will ultimately make access to cash a legal requirement.
Ceeney commented: “Cash still matters hugely to millions of people across the UK and with the cost-of-living crisis biting, more and more people are turning to cash as a way of budgeting effectively.
“The hub network will expand significantly to meet the demand of communities across the UK - I would expect us to be supporting hundreds of communities within a few years.”
John Howells, chief executive of LINK, added: “The UK isn’t ready to go cashless yet and it’s vital to protect our national cash infrastructure for the millions of consumers who still rely on cash.
“Any community with a problem with access to cash can now contact LINK and ask for help - we will also proactively check every community where ATMs and branches are closing to see if help should be provided.
“The Financial Conduct Authority is working with LINK to oversee the whole approach and make sure that communities get the help that they need.”
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