Does Scotland have Freedom to Pay?

Punish all these banking C.E.O’s and their executive directors every time they close a bank or ATM, they are only looking after their own interests, bonuses, share holdings etc whilst the customer is a nonentity. Their mantra is “Work would be wonderful, if it wasn’t for the customers”. The financial overseers are just as bad, after all don’t they play golf with them, go to the opera or football matches ? It is time a financial Dictator is appointed, one who has the customers interests foremost.

I fully support the ready access to cash for all people, and not only in Scotland. How are we to get by without cash on a daily basis. I give my Grandsons a “Saturday Penny”, well not exactly a penny but not a large sum either, am I supposed now to give them a loan of a credit card and tell them not to spend more than their allowance and how are shopkeepers going to react to a young child coming into their shop with a credit card for a few sweeties? No this rush to remove cash is just not on.

https://theferret.scot/theresa-may-scotland-broadband-powers/ As far as internet is concerned the Scottish government has been investing in upgrading it for the last two years, despite the fact that it is actually not devolved and is the responsibility of the Westminster governent. Access to cash is trickier particularly for the elder and for Scotland’s many rural communities. Where I live ( in Edinburgh) there used to be 4 banks. They have all closed. Also I would agree that there are still a lot of places that are cash only.

Our small B&B only takes cash (or cheques) as the cost of running a card service is too high in comparison to our turnover. We rely on our guests being able to get cash from the Post Office or cash point in the local shop (one of only two on the Isle of Mull, the other is 60 miles away). The ‘Link’ ATM doesn’t honour many cards from abroad (nor does the PO). We also accept BACS payments, of course, but this can be a problem with the slow internet.

We have no RBS in Eyemouth and the Post Office has also closed. There are two cash machines but they give you no choice in how you receive your requested money – no £5 notes, mostly £20.. I am nearly 80 and cannot easily get to Berwick which in now our ‘local’ (nearest)branch. We are offered banking at Haddington which is not what I would call local being 30+ miles away.

A number of years ago, it became apparent that it was actually an agenda to get rid of cash and I believe it’s all part of the rush to “tag and bag” us all, keeping every purchase and payment we make under close surveillance, removing our privacy in all things. I stopped using “loyalty” cards – they have your details attached to every thing you buy and sell your details and your profile for profit – those in-store vouchers are costing you more than they’re worth. I don’t do internet banking – way, way too dangerous – the risk is all yours. I cancelled the contactless facility on my debit cards – easy to do and removes another risk factor. I use cash as much as possible and I don’t use self-service. Just how daft is the public that they are doing away with their own jobs? I don’t need to do these things – I could take the “easy” option, but it’s not worth selling ourselves to the banksters and oligarchs for convenience. They are still robbing the public blind and providing next to nothing in the way of service. The public is being conditioned to believing that these changes are inevitable, but it’s perfectly possible to turn back the clock. I’m sorry to say I think the gentle attempts to ask banks and corporations to be nice is going to amount to a big fat nothing and only by voting with our feet and our cash will anything change.

We drove up to the Cairngorms to celebrate our anniversary and used the Bank of Scotland atm for some cash and a printout. Surprisingly this atm was a Bank of Scotland atm – unlike our atm at home which is free to use but not owned by any Bank .and it seems that the owners of these ‘independant’ atm machines actually charge banks each time they are used for cash printouts etc – sounds quite expensive when you consider just how many times atm machines are used on a daily basis.. Suggestion – why don’t all banks ‘buy out’ all atm machines and supply atm machines for all their customers particularly in areas where banks have been closed. This may sound a silly suggestion but if the banks ‘speculate to accumulate’ they wouldn’t get massive bills from the atm owners – even compulsory purchase these atm machines — their customers would be delighted that their bank actually ‘cares’ for their customers.
Thank you for reading my comments .[whether you consider them serious or sily.]

While standing in the queue at a RBS bank a customer said he’d travelled from, I think he said Anniesland to get physical access to a bank branch. The one in Maryhill and Anniesland had closed so he’d had to come to Milngavie. The banks seem to be putting profit before it’s owns customers needs, those actions seem to be coldly calculated and uncaring. Do banks have some sort of duty of care towards customers who are perhaps ill, for instance dementia is on the increase, how are some of these people supposed to deal with internet banking, not everyone has a trusted family member or friend to help? The population is getting older resulting in many bank customers being unable to travel long distances to get to a bank branch but want advice and help from a bank teller face to face so need a branch in their high street or supermarket. If there is no such duty of care compelling banks to meet the needs of those customers at the moment then please make it happen, it may well force them to put convenience for their customers before profit and convenience for the banks. I wonder how much stress the closure of bank branches and cash machines has caused and is causing customers. I wonder how many late payments there were due to the closures and how much money banks gained in charges as a result? At a branch I use the tellers are constantly encouraging customers to use the banking machines which may give RBS head office the impression less customers are using the tellers and opting to use the banking machines instead which does not reflect what is actually happening and does not reflect what the customers actually need, more over, seems to reflect what the banks wants the data to show. Figures and data can be misleading, in actual fact at peak times the bank doesn’t have enough tellers on leading to long queues. If the data/percentages show fewer and fewer customers use the bank tellers we might lose that branch and the tellers their jobs. It is as though people who want to and some who need to physically go to a bank and interact with tellers are being discriminated against. Some just want help from a trusted face with banking queries, and many are of the older generation who, partly due to terrible reports in the newspapers about internet theft, do not want to use internet banking or due to health, confusion, or what ever the reason, can’t. Data shows crime rates are down but internet fraud is continually rising. It seems the banks and their internet banking is making it more convenient for criminals to steal from people via the internet . Please get the banks to respect the fact internet banking, although more profitable and convenient for the banks, is not more convenient or profitable for all of it’s customers and could be costing their customers via stress and money due to travel expenses, fraud, even bank charges due to late payments because the customer couldn’t get reasonable or any bank branch access. Some people may or may not say the banks, by closing branches and cash machines, are trying to manipulate and coerce it’s customers into using internet banking by giving them no other viable choice simply because it is more profitable for the banks to do so. Is that even legal? Many customers are old, don’t drive, are ill, have no idea how to use the internet, can’t afford a computer or internet access and for many other reasons can’t and/or don’t do internet banking. With all that in mind and more it is vital banks start increasing the amount of bank branches customers can physically go to in our towns high streets and cities and increase the amount of cash machines available in rural areas. The branches don’t have to be open 24/7, even if they were to be open half days during peak hours convenient to customers, for instance opening at 12 noon and closing at maybe 18:30 would allow many, not all, working people better access and would be better than what is happening at the moment. They could do what some post offices have done and open inside supermarkets which would make them safer. Thankyou for reading this and although not all will agree, I hope it covers peoples concerns and points they wish to be taken into consideration.

A few years ago, we were cruising up the west coast of Scotland and were at Kyleakin. We needed some essential supplies so we went over to Kyle of Lochalsh. All over the town there were signs saying “No cards, Cash only.” None of the ATMs were working and there was a queue out of the bank and along the street. Fortunately we had enough cash with us for our needs. It turned out that the fibre optic cable had been cut, removing all communications including the internet, landline and mobile phone.

Today, there may be no bank there at all.

malcom r, In one of your comments you mentioned ” if they are regarded as a social service then are they
something that should be provided out of the public coffers? National or council tax?” Many older people have long term loyalty with their banks and have banked with them all their adult lives and don’t want to be forced to change banks because they feel safer with what they know. Consider the rising dementia rates. I don’t know which areas have other banks or how many, if any, but I have been told one of them is also to close. Banks have made a lot of money from it’s customers over the years, especially the long term loyal customers and perhaps it is time banks show loyalty to them instead of only to the banks share holders. It’s almost as though the banks money people don’t give a second thought to customers by having attitudes like, if they don’t like it they can leave. How uncaring and wrong. These are people, humans and should be treated that way and not like they are just numbers. Could it be, at least in the case of the RBS, that something more devious is at work, maybe the bank is disappearing branch by branch? Any individual can give us lots of statistics, advice and information, but fact is, we want more ATM’s and more bank branches and want the banks to stop closing them and to stop taking them away. We are the customers, and customers are always right. Banks are there to help us with our money and to serve us, to serve us they need to be visible and accessible by all customers. Perhaps all bank money people would benefit if they attend courses where they are taught how to care about their customers = human beings, as well as how to treat them like human beings and to meet their banking needs. Meeting customers banking needs is how banks came into existence so is it fair to say if banks do not meet customers needs those banks will at some point no longer be in existence?