Use it, or lose it - and I don't just mean the pub!

Nine months ago, I published a piece bemoaning the closure of bank branches, up and down the country, and how these closures were affecting my home town of Tonbridge. Somewhat ironically, these well-known institutions were traditionally know as High Street banks, for the obvious reason they had a presence on virtually every High Street up and down the land. Perhaps they ought to be renamed, although I’m not sure what name would suit them best.

I wrote at the end of that article, that it was madness, for a town the size of Tonbridge to be left with just one bank, and that even that could change. “Who's to say," I suggested, "that HSBC won't shut up shop too." Well surprise, surprise, at the end of last month, HSBC did indeed close their branch in Tonbridge High Street, leaving this West Kent market town, with a population of just under 42,000 souls, without any access to bricks and mortar banking facilities.

Coincidentally, at almost the same time in 2022, Tonbridge’s Post Office also closed, as the retail outlet it was housed in (WH Smith’s), relocated to a much smaller store. A couple of months later, a temporary Post Office opened at Tonbridge Castle Gateway (Tonbridge & Malling Council’s offices in the town). This joint initiative between TMBC and the Post Office provided basic, but not full over the counter services to the community.

 A year later, the town is still without its own, stand-alone Post Office, despite a number of attempts to find a permanent home for one. One possibility, which fell through at the last minute, was the premises occupied, until quite recently, by the much-missed Beer Seller. The building, which was once home to a long-established family-owned jewellers, is still empty, leading many people to question how can landlords afford to keep such properties empty and unlet?

Returning to the situation on our High Streets, the major banks blame recent closures on a reduction of around 65% in the number of customers physically going into branches, over the previous five years. This followed a reciprocal rise in people doing their banking online. This isn’t to say that the banks weren’t looking for an opportunity to save costs, as keeping all those physical, bricks and mortar outlets began to be viewed as an unnecessary expense.

Of course, there will always be those  who boast that they never enter a physical bank branch because they do all their banking, and other financial transactions online at home. Such a smug, “I’m alright Jack,” attitude flies in the face of the significantly large sector of the population who, for whatever reason, prefer the reassurance that comes from dealing with another human being within the physical walls of a traditional bank. This group includes many elderly people, who aren’t perhaps the most tech savvy, but it also includes those who wish to carry out other transactions that cannot be conducted online.

For example, try paying in a cheque online or, more importantly for small businesses, banking your cash takings the following morning, after a busy day’s trading. Unless they operate totally on a card-only basis, businesses require change to give to customers, and this was brought home to me the other week, during a visit to a local charity shop. Upon presenting my purchases at the till, the volunteer assistant asked if I could tender the exact amount of cash, as the business now had nowhere locally, where they could obtain change.

The other issue that arises is when you have a problem with you account. Calling in at your local branch, and discussing your issue with the person behind the counter, is far more likely to resolve the situation than attempting to do so over the phone – that’s if you can even get through to a real bank employee, rather than an electronic bot.  Also, the increase in online banking scams is almost certainly directly related to the decline in physical bank branches, and as for phone banking, don’t even go there! I've obviously been left behind, as an alarming number of people (particularly youngsters), think nothing of using their phone for virtually all financial transactions.

I first witnessed this behaviour, four years ago, on the visit I made to China where it seemed, the entire local population, both young and old, were wedded to their smartphones. I witnessed phones being used for all kinds of transactions, including payments in shops and restaurants, as well as access to the metro.  I know people in the UK who do the same, including our son, Matthew. Not only are such transactions open to interception – an unsecured wi-fi connection, for example, but the more cynical amongst us would argue that a lack of transparency leaves citizens vulnerable to government surveillance. 

The long-term aim of all governments, totalitarian or otherwise, has been to restrict, or even abolish cash, as by cutting off access to funds, by those who disagree with them, their control over the population increases, and becomes far more dangerous. Unnecessary scaremongering perhaps, or possibly dystopian fiction, but even the most enlightened governments are not immune from temptation, and trotting out the age-old lie that their actions are for the common good, is the way in which countless generations have been hoodwinked, into backing what are often sold to the population as “necessary measures.”

That’s enough doom and gloom, and the good news is people are beginning to fight back. I have read recently, of a couple of pubs that are offering a 50p discount on every pint paid for by cash. Gerhard Peleschka, landlord of the Griffin in Bretford, west London, is doing just that, as is Sean Holland, who runs the Lads of the Village pub at Stone, near Dartford. Mr Holland claims he will save around £250 per month by scrapping card payments, and by taking this action not only is he helping his own business but is also assisting customers during the ongoing cost of living crisis – every little helps as they say!

Other businesses, not necessarily connected with the licensed trade, are also taking action, and one such group locally is Tonbridge Needs Access to Cash. The group have set up a Facebook page, with the aim of sharing stories about how it feels about losing cash from the local High Street and to discuss how it can get business banking counter services back onto Tonbridge High Street. A statement from the group reads, "Tonbridge now has no High Street banks providing cash counter services to businesses. Our local businesses need somewhere effective to deposit and withdraw cash if we want them to continue accepting cash. If they don't have this service, they will either close or stop taking cash. This will have a huge impact on our local community."

The group’s ultimate aim is not to totally reverse the bank closures, as that would be like pissing into the wind. Instead, they are aiming towards a High Street Banking Hub, a facility operated on a joint basis by all the former High Street players. Hubs are shared spaces on the High Street, that allow customers of multiple banks to deposit and/or withdraw cash, as well as performing other everyday banking tasks. The counter services are operated by Post Office staff, but in addition, there are private spaces where customers can speak to someone from their own bank about more complex issues.

These operate on a rotating basis, so there are staff from different banks available on different days. Each hub has a different schedule depending on which banks have the most customers in a given area, and with most of the big banks in the UK taking part, the "vast majority" of customers will be covered by this scheme. At the time of writing, there are eight such hubs, spread across the country, with more in the pipeline, and they look set to become the main way for many to access banking in the coming years, as banks continue to shut individual branches.

In the meantime, as with local pubs, the plea is to use local shops and banks, before they disappear into an increasingly virtual world, and AI really takes over! (The same applies with other local services, such as buses, too).