RBS will have to shell out £200 on ferry fares each time it sends a mobile bank to replace a Hebridean island’s only branch, an MP claimed today.
RBS saved Barra’s only bank after a U-turn – but only until the end of the year.
It amounts to a six month reprieve on the original closure.
The tiny isle with around 1100 people was to lose its only bank as part of the RBS closures, leaving islanders dependent on a mobile banking service with the next nearest branch a ferry ride and 27 miles away on a neighbouring island.
But Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil, who lives on Barra, said today that RBS would spend more than £2,000 a month on travel costs if it proceeds with the closure of the Castlebay branch on the isle.
The mobile bank is due to visit the island three times a week at a cost of more than £200 a return ferry trip, together with staff costs and any unforeseen travel disruptions.
Mr MacNeil said he cost of cutting the branch may not be as cost effective as RBS have been insisting.
He said: “Closing branches is supposed to be a money saving exercise but in the case of the island branches, the costs involved in a mobile banking service might prove otherwise.
“When RBS add up all the travel costs and the additional unexpected costs that can incur if there is travel disruption, they should think again.
“One department of RBS is pulling the wool over the eyes of another department if they’re selling the closure of the Castlebay branch as a saving. I hope that the independent reviewer will also look at this issue, and the fact that the RBS van will put further pressure on an already busy ferry service.
“The local community are telling RBS to drop their plans; the Scottish Affairs Committee are telling RBS to drop their plans; and now their own bank balance might tell them to drop their plans for Castlebay and Lochboisdale too.”
A spokesman from RBS said: “The way our customers are banking is changing and it is important that we respond to that change. We recognise that every customer will have different banking needs and we are committed to ensuring all our customers receive the best possible service.
“We have invested to provide more ways to bank with us now than ever before from local, to face-to-face and digital options: branches; Post Offices; mobile vans; online banking; mobile banking; telephony; cash machines (ATMs); cashback; contactless; Community Bankers; Business Growth Enablers; TechXperts; and many more.
“We offer more than 2,000 physical service points for banking across communities in Scotland.”
