How do you address community concerns about the loss of town centre banking services, and how do you ensure that local, small businesses can still deposit cash conveniently? What might be a suitable solution for safeguarding banking services?
Addressing local concerns
At the People & Places Partnership, we pride ourselves on finding solutions that address the concerns expressed by local stakeholders in our town centre surveys. Increasingly prominent amongst these concerns, are worries about the impacts of the closure of High Street bank branches.
Customers are concerned that it will be more difficult and costly to get hold of cash. Businesses are concerned that this will affect spending and drive customers to other towns. It also raises concerns about added inconvenience and costs for local businesses needing to deposit cash takings.
New banking solution for Thatcham
When customers and businesses faced such concerns in the Berkshire town of Thatcham, the local Newbury Building Society stepped in with a neat solution for safeguarding banking services. The Building Society installed a self-help kiosk in its branch that enables customers of most High Street Banks to have free access to cash services. You can watch a two-minute video from BBC South-East that gives a good insight into this solution for safeguarding banking services in Thatcham.
Offering cash deposits and withdrawals for UK banks
The service in the Newbury Building Society in Thatcham uses a solution for safeguarding banking services provided through automated kiosks developed by OneBanx. This service seeks to:
- Offer cash deposits and withdrawals for most UK banks.
- Provide an inclusive, in-person, and assisted banking experience that bridges the gap between in-person and digital services.
Protecting use of cash in local businesses
Stuart Fearn, an independent consultant who has helped develop and promote the OneBanx solution for safeguarding banking services, explains how a key benefit is that it helps prevent small, local businesses feeling forced to go cashless because they cannot bank locally. “The OneBanx machines ability to take cash on behalf of most U.K. banks”, explains Stuart, “can protect a places ability to have its businesses take cash. As a result, the older and more vulnerable residents are still able to use cash to help them budget better.”
Suitable for a cross-section of age groups
Stuart Fearn also explains that the easy-to-use technology allows people of all ages to access cash services directly. “Contrary to the assumptions of some, ‘older people’ can readily adapt to accessible technology. The evidence from usage of the kiosks is that they provide a suitable service for a cross-section of age groups, including the over-seventies. In-person support is available to assist the first-time user.”
Banking and books in Knaresborough
The OneBanx kiosks also offer the advantage that they can be hosted in partnership with community-based services in a town centre. When residents and businesses in the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough became concerned about the loss of banking services, a partnership approach was developed between Knaresborough Library run by the County Council, and the Newcastle Building Society. Customers from all banks can perform everyday banking transactions from within the Newcastle Building Society branch in the town library using the OneBanx kiosk.
You can read more about the innovative approach to hosting Newcastle Building Society services and the OneBanx kiosk, in this Yorkshire Times article on piloting a cash lifeline in Knaresborough.
For more information
You can read more about OneBanx and its solution for safeguarding banking services; whilst organisations such as local authorities, town partnerships and BIDs can get in touch directly via Stuart.Fearn@uk.glory-global.com
You can also read wider information about retaining the right to bank on your High Street including the new rules introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority requiring banks to help maintain access to cash.
This Guidance on maintaining High Street Banking services is part of People & Places wider work to create understanding and address key town centre issues. It is one of a number of key concerns regularly brought-up by local businesses and customers as part of our work to help councils and communities to “bring facts and faces to town centres“.
People & Places are authors of the Local Government Association’s revitalising town centres toolkit that includes practical guidance on the ‘how’ and the ‘what’ of town centre revitalisation. This an approach applied through work that we lead such as reviewing how to turn-around town centres in Causeway Coast and Glen, or planning for recovery in Letchworth.
