Last-ditch bid to save mobile banking service in Sutherland
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Sutherland councillors are launching a last-ditch bid to keep a mobile banking service in the county.
Councillors are calling for pressure to be put on the Bank of Scotland to reverse its decision to withdraw the service at the end of this month.
Cllr Michael Baird, who represents the North, West and Central Sutherland ward, supported by Clrr Richard Gale, East Sutherland and Edderton, is urging the council to lobby the Scottish Government to intervene over the issue.
They have put forward a motion to be considered at the full council meeting next Thursday.
Cllr Baird said: “We are asking Highland Council to plead the case in the strongest possible terms for the retention of the mobile banking service in the rural Highlands.”
Sutherland MP Jamie Stone and Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant have also previously asked the Bank of Scotland to reconsider its decision.
A mobile Bank of Scotland branch currently visits Bonar Bridge, Helmsdale, Lairg and Dornoch on a set day every fortnight, allowing customers to withdraw cash, pay bills, send money orders, cash cheques and ask general account questions.
The Bank of Scotland, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, announced earlier this year that the mobile branches would be axed with the loss of 1600 jobs as the bank continues its migration to online banking.
The mobile service will make its final visit to Bonar Bridge on May 21, followed by visits to Helmsdale, Lairg and Dornoch over the next three days.
Cllr Baird said: “This is evidence of a further erosion of vital services across the Highlands, with a significant detrimental impact on our elderly population.
“Quite simply if you live in one of the areas affected and you don’t have access to the internet, you are effectively denied access to all but the most basic banking services and even then, only if you have access to a post office.”
However, the Bank of Scotland has responded that it has seen a decline in the use of mobile branches in recent years.
A Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: “As many customers now choose to bank online or through their mobile app, visits to our mobile bank branch have fallen significantly over recent years.
“Local post offices offer everyday banking, with cash also available at free-to-use ATMs. Customers can also manage their money by calling us.”
Statistics released by the bank shows that 53 people have used the East Sutherland mobile banking service regularly in the last six months.
Of these 63 per cent were aged 74 and under and 37 per cent were aged 75 and over . Seventy-six per cent were personal customers and 24 per cent were business customers.
The bank said that a community banker would visit Bonar Bridge, Dornoch and Helmsdale, but not Lairg. A community banker works from a room in a community venue and can help customers with internet and telephone banking.
MP Jamie Stone said earlier this week that the bank’s refusal so far to reconsider was “extremely disappointing”.
He said: “It was not very long ago when the Bank of Scotland ran television ads showing mobile banks driving through beautiful Highland scenery, extolling the virtues of their services.
“It is all very well to say that the demand has fallen but communities such as Bonar Bridge, Helmsdale, Lairg and Dornoch in my constituency have come to rely on this service, particularly the elderly for whom online banking is not really an option.
“It was only a few years ago that the UK Government stepped in to bail out the banks. I feel that this development goes against any notion of public service, especially for the elderly and those living in the most remote areas. I will be raising it at the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity.
