More bank branch closures spook the high street

The big banks have shut 1,700 branches across the UK over the last five years, and as the closures continue, more and more high streets are being left without a single bank on them.

When the Barclay’s branch in Bexley shuts in the next fortnight, the south-east London suburb won’t have a single bank branch. Barclays has justified the closure in a an environment of low interest rates and high rents, explaining that only nine customers “regularly” used the branch without interacting with the bank in any other way over the last twelve months.

But campaigners warn that while banks are investing more and more in digital and mobile technology to make banking easier for many, they run the risk of alienating important local customers, like small businesses, the elderly, and people who don’t have regular online access, who rely more on branch access.