How do we protect access to banking in a digital age?

I don’t visit banks very often but I’m now living not far from a town where all the major banks have a branch, which is very convenient. I don’t need to visit a bank very often but when I did some tidying up of my finances recently I visited branches of four of the banks. A couple of my queries could have been difficult to deal with on the phone but the banks’ staff were very helpful and I prefer face-to-face contact for non-routine problems.

At Christmas I usually visit my family in the highlands of Scotland, where there is no longer a single bank in the nearest town. Last Christmas the only ATM was out of action. What we need, in my view, is planning before withdrawal of banks or ATMs, just like we need planning of provisions of schools, buses and Post Offices. Vynor has mentioned the possibility of a building that offers banking services for all the main banks. I was fortunate in having this service many years ago. When it was set up it was operated by Midland Bank (predecessor of HSBC) who were given use of a university building on condition that a service was provided for other banks. It was a basic service such as that currently offered by Post Offices but it was very convenient and well used. Cooperation between companies can be beneficial for the businesses and their customer, and perhaps the best example is the Link network of ATMs that from the 1970s, dispensed with the need to visit one operated by your own bank.

Bank branches (or combined branches) could help more people embark on using online banking, contactless cards and phone banking safely by offering hands-on tuition and advice on avoiding fraud.

We certainly need the right mix of services to cater for all consumers. Access to cash has been discussed at length, with various suggestions made as to how it could be greatly improved. ATMs will never be provided in all locations to meet everyone’s convenience. Bank branches close because, when they are little used, they are a considerable expense.

We’ve discussed multi-provider bank branches so all customers can have personal banking. I wonder if the banks would like to respond to this? Out local building society branch was operated by an insurance broker quite successfully; maybe a financial office could be used that offers other services as well. Post Offices do fill an important gap, funded by the banks, but there are matters that need face to face discussion where they are not suitable.

I’d suggest that online banking has been a huge improvement in convenience; one of my family today needed a small loan, and it was provided (by me) in seconds. How could I have done that otherwise? Personally, in the years I’ve used online I’ve never had any problem. But as with all financial matters, responsibility, thought, common sense needs to be exercised.

It might be useful if Which? took a holistic view of personal banking and set out some ideas as to how it might see it organised, but bearing in mind realism and pragmatism. Things change and we need to provide the means to adapt.

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If folk ever stop buying food in shops and instead only order it by phone or online, we’ll have a real problem on our hands.

Until then, enterprising local shops can provide cashback, ATM’s and, via Post office counters, access to other banking services.

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My parents live in an area without mobile signal and are self isolating. Unfortunately this is becoming more and more impossible as the banks they use rely on multi factor authentication using SMS that they cannot receive. They are no longer able to use their M&S credit card as a result. They have called M&S who refuse to change the method of authentication to either email or landline. How can we lobby for locations in remote areas to have different verification methods for online shopping? The village used to have two banks, now has none and also has no cashpoint. I absolutely agree on the needs for a different approach and to allow all communities access to money.