A MAJOR bank is shutting six of its Scottish branches as customers “change they way” they use its services.
Virgin Money – which closed 12 of its stores in Scotland less than two years ago – announced the latest round of closures, primarily impacting on rural areas.
The bank’s stores in Ellon, Fort William, Irvine, Lochgilphead, Newton Stewart and Turiff will all be shut down as 32 are closed across the UK.
The company says at least 12 weeks of notice will be given for each branch, with customers given details on other ways they can manage their accounts.
It also stressed that the stores closing are less than half a mile away from post offices, where customers without digital skills can do many transactions.
Sarah Wilkinson, chief operating officer at Virgin Money, said: “The decision to close a store is never taken lightly. But as our customers continue to change the way they want to bank with us, by conducting fewer transactions in-store and adopting the convenience of digital banking, we must respond to that evolving demand.
“Our focus is on supporting our customers and colleagues. We have considered the number of vulnerable customers using each store very carefully throughout the review process as a key factor in our decision making, and will proactively provide enhanced, bespoke care to ensure any vulnerable customers affected are supported through the changes.
“For our colleagues, we will pursue all options to retain as many as possible within alternative roles, and have had great success previously with store colleagues moving to other customer operations roles, as their skills are highly transferable.”
The news comes after it was announced that Bank of Scotland would shut down another five of its branches from November.
The stores affected are Dundee, Dunoon, Govan, Harris and Lochmaddy.
