Bank of Scotland is replacing half of its branches in the Outer Hebrides with visiting “community bankers”.
The region currently has only four Bank of Scotland branches for in-person banking.
And, from February next year, it has been announced that branches in Lochmaddy and Tarbert will close their doors for good.
This will leave only one branch apiece for Uist and Lewis and Harris.
Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan has condemned the closures, saying that the change could be “extremely difficult” for the community.
But Bank of Scotland says the closures reflect the changing way people are banking.
They believe that a new system combining online banking with visiting community bankers will be a better way to support customers near Lochmaddy and Tarbert.
Why are branches being closed?
Digital banking has led to a huge decrease in the use of in-person branches.
In the last year, the Lochmaddy Bank of Scotland branch had only eight regular customers, figures show.
And both the Lochmaddy and Tarbert locations are seeing over 50% less personal banking customers than in 2018.
Still, access to in-person banking will always be necessary, as Alasdair Allan has pointed out.
Digital banking ‘lengthy and frustrating’
“There are many services which can only be carried out in-branch,” he said. “And there can be technical issues with digital banking as well as lengthy and frustrating waits to speak with customer support teams over the phone.”
Vital in-person visits will now mean a two-hour round trip from Tarbert to Stornoway.
Mr Allan questioned whether this would “be seen as acceptable for customers in the central belt”.
Customers in Lochmaddy and Tarbert have, however, been promised additional support in the form of new community bankers.
How will community bankers work?
Community bankers will visit regularly to “provide face-to-face services to customers in their local communities,” said a Bank of Scotland spokesperson.
These include “making payments, account enquiries and online banking support”.
Community bankers will have “the same knowledge, experience and access to our systems as someone in our branches,” they say. “A community banker will typically be a colleague who works in one of our branches already.”
“If they cannot provide a service immediately, they will refer customers on to our specialist teams.”
The hope is that they will provide essential services without taking up the resources of a permanent branch.
Bank of Scotland says the exact visiting times will vary depending on each community’s needs.
“We will discuss with local communities which locations would be appropriate for our community banker to set up in, and on which days.”
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