- By Giancarlo Rinaldi
- South Scotland reporter, BBC Scotland news website
Image source, Craig Wallace
Services are set to come to an end across rural Scotland by the end of May next year
The Bank of Scotland has announced plans to end its mobile branch services in dozens of towns and villages across Scotland next year.
It blamed low use of the banking vans in communities that have lost their traditional bricks-and-mortar branches in recent years.
Visitor numbers have dropped by 90% since 2018 and some locations had as few as two customers, the bank said.
The move has been described as “extremely worrying” by politicians.
It said more than 21 million of its customers were regularly using online banking but the mobile banks helped an average of just 14 customers during their routes.
Mobile branches were introduced in many areas facing the closure of traditional bank branches, and visit fortnightly.
The Bank of Scotland said most people used the service to pay cash in or out – a service which was also provided at the Post Office.
Among the areas affected are Aberdeenshire, Angus, Berwickshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Inverness, Moray, Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Sutherland.
Image source, Richard Sutcliffe
Mobile branches have been a familiar sight in many towns and villages in recent years
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who is also MP for Moray, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the decision and accused the banks of being “out of touch with the needs of customers”.
“These services are vital for these communities who have already suffered from branch closures in the towns.
“Elderly and vulnerable people in particular continue to want access to banking services in their local area as they simply don’t use online banking.
“Connectivity also remains a major issue for many people living in rural and remote parts of Moray.”
The party raised concerns about the impact on towns like Newtown St Boswells and Coldstream in the Scottish Borders, where it said many older and vulnerable people would be left without access to essential banking services.
The Bank of Scotland – part of the Lloyds Banking Group – said it would make two separate review documents available for each route visiting the affected areas.
The first part contains the reasons for the closure, with the second detailing any community feedback.
It said that in some locations a “community banker” would visit after the mobile branch service ended.
A Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: “Customers have been using our mobile branches much less over time and some locations now have as little as two customers using the service.
“We’ll be introducing more community bankers, alongside the other options customers already have for their banking including the Post Office, online, our mobile apps, phone banking, video services and web chat. All colleagues will continue in roles across our business.”
