Out of 5,000 branch closures since 2010, the most deprived 10 percent of local authorities have seen a decline of nearly a third. This is in stark contrast with the least deprived 10 percent, which have seen a fall of just over a fifth of their existing branches. The news comes as the Daily Express battles to save Britain’s struggling high streets, and seeks to halt the loss of thousands of shops and jobs in the hearts of our towns and cities. This newspaper’s long standing Save Our High Street crusade has campaigned for innovative measures and more government money to boost high streets hit with a multitude of closures.

The research, from digital account provider Pockit, follows growing concerns about ATM closures and banks shutting their doors.

The study found that Blackpool and Blackburn in Lancs, Bradford, West Yorks and Hartlepool, Co Durham, were among the areas worst affected. But more affluent areas, such as St Albans in Hertfordshire, Guildford in Surrey, and Richmond upon Thames in Middlesex, were found to have suffered less severe declines.

Pockit chief executive Virraj Jatania said: “Big banks are marginalising the poorest in society by shutting up shop and leaving them behind.

“These findings suggest that high street lenders prefer serving the most well-off rather than the most in need.”

Gareth Shaw, head of money at consumer specialists Which?, said: “Our research shows that consumers in the two lowest household income groups rely on cash the most, but these people are struggling to access this vital payment method through the double blow of bank branch and cashpoint closures.

“Banks should make sure they cater to the needs of all their customers and provide suitable alternatives before they shut their doors – and [shut] their customers out.”

A spokesman for trade association UK Finance said: “Bank branches play an important role in the life of local communities and decisions to close them are never taken lightly.

“Research shows that consumers are increasingly choosing newer ways to help them with their banking, using technology to check balances and make payments – or even speak to your bank 24/7.”

SHARP DROP IN CASH WITHDRAWALS

Cash withdrawals have fallen dramatically as card and contactless payments take over.

In the first four months of 2019, there was a sharp decline in ATM withdrawals of almost 10 per cent in some parts of the country, compared with the same period in 2018.

The largest drops were in London, followed by parts of southern England. The weakest were in the North-east, according to research by cash machine network Link. Figures from UK Finance show about 1.9 million people used cash for their day-to-day transactions in 2018, but 5.4 million people used cash rarely or not at all.

Cash use has dropped massively since the millennium.

The number of money payments in 2000 stood at more than 27 billion, accounting for 74 percent of all transactions.

But, by 2018, there were only 11 billion cash payments, 28 percent of the total.

Source: Read Full Article