Bank Closing Down

[Frank-the-Wool]

I am sure this has been covered before, but our local branch of Lloyds is closing down, meaning the next closest will be a 30 mile plus round trip.
I still seem to go to the Bank every week. I could insist on everyone paying by BACS but that might be difficult, I also get paid cash occasionally.

I can pay into the Post Office, but there is always a queue there and I think it takes longer for cheques to clear.
I believe the only bank that will be left in our local town will be Nationwide. Has anyone any experience of them as I am tempted to move some accounts to them?

 

[JP1]

I am sure this has been covered before, but our local branch of Lloyds is closing down, meaning the next closest will be a 30 mile plus round trip.
I still seem to go to the Bank every week. I could insist on everyone paying by BACS but that might be difficult, I also get paid cash occasionally.

I can pay into the Post Office, but there is always a queue there and I think it takes longer for cheques to clear.
I believe the only bank that will be left in our local town will be Nationwide. Has anyone any experience of them as I am tempted to move some accounts to them?

I find our local village Post Office excellent for drawing cash or depositing cheques. The cheques must go to a central processing unit as they always seem to appear a day or two earlier in my account than ones deposited at the bank in town.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Was talking to a supplier earlier in the week who had a similar problem with lloyds closing branches.
Said he'd opened an account at the post office, I think he said Santander, so can now pay in money locally and then transfers funds at end of month.

 

[Tom W]

We are in a similar position, 3 branches of Lloyds local to us have closed within last 18 months. I don't have a 30 mile round trip thankfully but not happy with queueing for 30 min to pay in each time you go. I have a private nationwide account which is ok but when i enquired about business banking they weren't very inspiring. Bacs is our preferred payment method and 99% pay that way with little cash and about 2 cheques a year.

 

[Bruce Almighty]

Both HSBC and NatWest closed their branches in Warwick last year.

We moaned to our excellent NatWest business manager at the time. But paying cheques in at the Post Office is painless and we seem to have got over it.

 

[David.]

There was similar local unrest when Barclays shut the branch in out village 10 yrs ago.
The Post Office paying in system works fine, and combined with online banking, I have come to regard cheques as a waste of time and energy.
The men at the top will unfortunately not care if you go elsewhere either.

 

[milkloss]

Have a look at Thursday . Never used it myself but worth a thought maybe.

https://personal.natwest.com/personal/ways-to-bank/mobile-branch/kent-and-east-sussex.html

 

[davieh3350]

RBS are shutting down in almost every town here it seems. 30 miles to nearest one in Perth.
Always a steady flow of people coming in when you're in.

Should shut down the account on principle.

 

[GTB]

In Machynlleth all banks apart from Barclays have closed. Nearly everyone moved their accounts to Barclays on principle but they have been on a three day opening for a while now and are closing this year.

No banks left in Tregaron

Not sure what's left in Lampeter.

Still got them all in Aberystwyth, so far...

 

[Grassman]

I can see the banks closing will be a lifeline for post offices.

 

[Daddy Pig]

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...que-imaging/&usg=AOvVaw3qUVuSfUaDdwupiDhVFGqW

don't know if link will work but Barclays lets you photograph and send image, all from the comfort of your sofa.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Should shut down the account on principle.

But practically no one does so the banks see no problem with closing branches.

@Frank-the-Wool you'll soon be able to pay in cheques by scanning them with your phone.

Branch that Mrs PBH works in closes today - the customers who've been most vocal and sometimes quite rude are generally those who use it the least. The regulars have been quite understanding and concerned for the staff.

 

[milkloss]

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwigk46v1sXaAhUqCcAKHfN6BAsQFggpMAA&url=https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/mobile-banking-services/mobile-cheque-imaging/&usg=AOvVaw3qUVuSfUaDdwupiDhVFGqW

don't know if link will work but Barclays lets you photograph and send image, all from the comfort of your sofa.

Looks a smart idea

 

[coomoo]

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwigk46v1sXaAhUqCcAKHfN6BAsQFggpMAA&url=https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/mobile-banking-services/mobile-cheque-imaging/&usg=AOvVaw3qUVuSfUaDdwupiDhVFGqW

don't know if link will work but Barclays lets you photograph and send image, all from the comfort of your sofa.

I know think that’s only Barclays own cheques so far. Was away last week at a meeting forgot wallet so phoned wife she gave me my card details put them in phone to set up Apple Pay letting me buy lunch with my phone! Things are changing at a pace now.

 

[Lili]

Always found Nationwide fine. Staff friendly and helpful. No frills in the bank itself but to me good service is more important than fancy buildings.

 

[Farmer Roy]

its an issue we've had here for many years in smaller towns.

Gunnedah is fortunate to have a number of bank branches here, I don't think we lost any ( apart from amalgamations etc ) over the last 20 / 30 years.

however - I cant honestly say the last time I physically walked into a bank . . .
30 years ago I banked with the Commonwealth. Big long counter, heaps of teller staff, plus others out the back. Same bank & building today, maybe 1 or 2 tellers if youre lucky, you couldn't rob the joint cos youd be flat out trying to find someone to point a shotgun at . . .
I now bank with Rabobank, who don't even have an office in town.
Virtually ALL my banking, either payments or credits, is done on line. Maybe 3 or 4 times a year I may have to deposit a cheque, in which case Rabo has an arrangement with Westpac that I can deposit there.
Just looking through my deposit & cheque books here - since 2013 I have deposited 24 cheques & written out 58. All business banking these days is online.
Personally, I have no need for a branch.
All my dealings with my bank are over the phone, email, or personal visits

However, where it is hard is for small local businesses, pubs, cafes, newsagents etc who do handle a lot of cash & who do need a local branch to safely deposit that cash into. The alternative is carrying at times large amounts of cash on the premises, & a long, unsecured, drive to a larger centre that has a bank

 

[hendrebc]

If you have 2 or 3 banks on the town and they all close but one dont bother changing branches they will soon close that one too. There were 2 banks in corwen and when hsbc closed everyone moved to natwest that then closed within a year leaving everyone pee'd off. Same story in lots of other towns around here lots of people changed banks only to have them close.
Luckily natwest send a mobile banking van around to all the local towns for about an hour or so a week on different days in every town. You can be queing for an hour to get in its so busy and they will be desperate to leave to get to the next town they go to on that day
Nearest branch is almost an hour away i still have to go there on occaision. Usually if ive a cheque to go in and the account is running low

 

[chickens and wheat]

Soon you will be able to bank a cheque by taking a picture of it using an app from the bank,.

I find post office simple enough to bank my occasional cheques with.

Any cash goes into my private account at P.O. then transferred to farm account, much cheaper to bank cash that way.

bank manager come to see me when needed.

 

[Goweresque]

If you open a Santander business account you can deposit cash and cheques at any Post Office. Up to £3k cash deposit per month is free of fees, cheque deposits are free. All the activity is free, you pay £7-50 a month flat fee (used to be free if you'd paid in £3k per month, but thats no longer available).

 

[Courier]

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwigk46v1sXaAhUqCcAKHfN6BAsQFggpMAA&url=https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/mobile-banking-services/mobile-cheque-imaging/&usg=AOvVaw3qUVuSfUaDdwupiDhVFGqW

don't know if link will work but Barclays lets you photograph and send image, all from the comfort of your sofa.

Apparently LLoyds will be doing this as well shortly - It's probably how the Post Office does it anyway to get cheques to clearing faster than the banks themselves.