TSB Bank has announce that it will close its Skipton branch in May 2020.
It comes after reporting that 10% less people used the branch over a three year period and only 24 regular customers frequent the location. What’s more, the company states that almost all of their Skipton customers opt to use online solutions or other branches rather than their Caroline Square location.
The decision is part of a larger strategic plan released by TSB, which aims to allow their business to evolve and become more “technology-enabled.”
Robin Bulloch, customer banking director at TSB said “We have made the difficult decision to close some of our quieter branches and will fully support customers through this transition.
“We realise this is difficult news for our branch partners and will do everything to support those affected to redeploy as many people as we can to other roles and keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum.”
It’s no secret that mobile banking is on the rise. More and more people are looking to technology, call centres and mobile apps to help them manage their money.
In fact, in a recent article by The Guardian, Jasper Jolly described the huge decline in high street banking “Mobile and internet banking is already widespread in the UK. Over two-thirds of British adults used online banking and 48% used mobile banking in 2018 – up from 41% in the previous year, according to figures by UK Finance, the banking industry lobby group.”
Seventy-one percent of customers are expected to use mobile apps for banking by 2024. Over the same period, the number of customers who bank in branches is expected to decline to 55%.
The rapid uptake of app banking has forced Britain’s biggest banks to reassess their costly footprint of physical branches.”
The move to relying on technology is nothing new and is touching many industries. However, it is feared that the move could leave many of the older generation alienated and those who rely on face to face assistance in their banking needs, or lack the transport access to other nearby branches might be left stranded.
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