We cannot bank on banks to stay – George urges customers to use Penzance banks

West Cornwall & Isles of Scilly MP, Andrew George, is urging local people to use their bank branches in Penzance after Lloyds closed in January.  

He has written to all the high street banks still operating in Penance after that closure, to ask them about their future plans. Though he has received assurance from Nationwide that they will remain in the town until at least 2030, all other high street banks have not made such a commitment, though they have used the ‘no current plans to close’ word formulation in response to Mr George’s question. 

Following his bank survey, Mr George said: “This isn’t simply a question of ‘use it or lose it’, because many banks are deliberately introducing systems to divert and discourage face to face banking and to push customers into using faceless, centralised electronic systems, even where customers would prefer to continue speaking to customer staff. 

“While these can be convenient for some of the more straightforward transactions, life is more complicated than banks seem to suppose. Businesses need to deposit cash, community groups and charities need authorisations to be checked and changed, probate requires specialised services and many customers are not digitally enabled.  

 “Lloyds closed despite around a third of their customers being regular (once a month) users of the branch. After half a century of being a loyal customer of Lloyds myself, I closed my account with them in protest at the way they have treated our communities. I urge others to do the same. It’s more straightforward to switch banks than I had expected.  

 “I particularly applaud Nationwide for committing to stay until at least 2030. The others have used the ‘no current plans to close’ formulation to avoid making any commitment, therefore we must encourage them. So I strongly advise customers to use their banks and not to accept pressure by them to use online services, especially where these create uncertainties or a less good service.” 

Andrew recently visited the Nationwide branch in Penzance to discuss these issues.