Online banking fears prompt call for more hubs

Shared banking hubs should beryllium opened much rapidly to assistance those who consciousness uncomfortable managing their finances online, a foundation has said.

Age UK said galore radical who were older oregon connected little incomes wanted to interact successful idiosyncratic erstwhile dealing with money.

Its survey suggested that 27% of over-65s and 58% of over-85s relied connected face-to-face banking.

Hundreds of slope branches person closed successful caller years but lone 4 premises shared by antithetic banks person opened.

Banks person pointed to the ample simplification successful subdivision usage - a inclination accelerated by the Covid pandemic - and the popularity of managing wealth via smartphones, arsenic bully crushed for diluting their subdivision network.

But Age UK said its survey suggested those who were astir apt to consciousness uncomfortable utilizing online banking were aged implicit 85, female, connected a debased income, oregon much disadvantaged than their counterparts.

Among those who were uncomfortable, the cardinal concerns astir online banking were fraud and scams, a deficiency of spot successful online banking services, and a deficiency of machine skills.

The survey size becomes comparatively tiny erstwhile breached down, but Age UK said that 34% of those with an yearly income of little than £17,500 chiefly banked face-to-face, compared to 15% of those with an income of £30,000 to £49,999 a year.

Separate figures amusement that, since the commencement of 2020, much branches person closed successful poorer parts of the UK than successful better-off areas.

In its study called "You can't slope connected it anymore", Age UK said it was captious that carnal banking spaces were protected.

Charities and user groups person called for an acceleration successful the instauration of banking hubs, erstwhile each branches person closed successful an area.

These hubs spot antagonistic services tally for the large banks, often by the Post Office, and dedicated rooms wherever customers sojourn assemblage bankers from their ain bank. The costs of the hub are shared betwixt the participating banks.

However, lone 4 hubs person opened truthful far, portion an mean of 54 branches person unopen each period since January 2015, according to user radical Which?. Another 48 hubs person been agreed for areas crossed the UK, but they tin instrumentality 12 months to find a premises and get up and running.

Caroline Abrahams, foundation manager astatine Age UK, said: "We request to look up to the information that immense numbers of older people, the oldest old, especially, are not banking online. Even older radical who bash slope online often privation the quality to speech to a slope worker successful the soma astir immoderate benignant of transaction.

"A deficiency of face-to-face banking volition lone service to further exclude the millions of radical connected a debased income who person nary oregon constricted entree to the internet."

John Howells, main enforcement of currency instrumentality and currency entree web Link, said: "It is captious to support face-to-face banking services for the millions of consumers who trust connected cash.

"The projected nationalist web of shared banking hubs being provided by the banking manufacture are proving a fashionable and casual to usage mode to bash that."