this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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As people use online banking more, less are going to physical buildings. Plus their hours were also awkward and didn't fit in with people working weekends etc. Why pay all the costs of maintaining a building, and more importantly, the costs and wages of people to staff them when you can have a website?
Where I live in Ware, Hertfordshire we don't have a bank anymore. There used to be ay least four. There's building society, but banking has to be done via the post office. Which is in a shop. The main post office closed some years ago and moved into a shop. That closed and we had nothing for over a year.
It's shite.
Welcome to blessed liberalized UK where the market regulates itself for the benefit of the people!
How often do you need to go to a bank branch though? I last went in 2017 and even that wasn't a necessary trip.
How do businesses handle cash in this situation?
I can't speak for the UK, and I'm not even sure about the situation in the Netherlands, but two things I've observed here:
So I suppose for the remaining uses, they'll "just" have to travel longer distances?
In Spain there is still a lively cash economy, the pandemic took a lot of that business away and I'm sure as the years march on it will become less so as governments squeeze anonymity out of transactions to collect more of that sweet, sweet tax money.
Personally? Very, very rarely now. The last time was to open a joint account with my wife. Can't do that in the branch in Hertford (the county town) apparently. We didn't bother in the end.
Shopkeepers trying to pay in their takings, older people that can't use web services. People that want to talk about their requirements rather than filling out a poorly thought out script on the aforementioned web page, all need somewhere physical.
We are supposed to be getting a banking hub, the main banks will each have a representation there. Its been asked about for a couple of years now but hasn't got anywhere.
I'm not in the industry so I have no idea - is this common rather than having cash collected by G4S & co.?
I'm guessing they mostly use the phone instead, but probably have no great need to do either.
Can also be done on the phone.
I'm not arguing that all banks should close their branches but with the way society works these days I can see how they're incredibly expensive and inefficient to run.
is this common
Yes, itβs actually really common due to takings being relatively small in cash these days.
Even when cash was much more prevalent, stores (even really big ones) would deposit in person. In 2005 my friend was required to walk to the bank at 8am the morning after the Xbox360 came out to deposit the entire takings of the midnight sale, in person. He worked for one of the biggest retailers in the UK at the time. IIRC he had over Β£35k in his backpack (even then many big purchases were being made using Chip and Pin).
I agree to a point - but not everyone wants to do stuff over the phone - some business is better done face to face.
Shopkeepers had to drive to a bank, where ever that may be, now that Hertford branches are closing as well, that may be Welwyn Garden City, Bishops Stortford or Harlow. And with Hertford being the county town - I think that's pretty piss poor.
The banking hub is a great idea, but two years so far and sod all.