Individuals and SMEs cannot bank on High Street banks being there in the future, warns the home delivery expert ParcelHero.<\/p>\n
A total of 52 branch closures are slated for this month alone, meaning the Government\u2019s newly launched \u2018Access to Banking Services\u2019 review<\/a> is urgently needed. However, Parcelhero fears Britain\u2019s town centre banks have become another High Street sector threatened with near-extinction because of the growth of internet services.<\/p>\n Parcelhero\u2019s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: \u2018The threat to in-person banking is escalating by the week. Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland \u2013 all part of the Lloyds Banking Group \u2013 are set to shut at least 168 bank branches by the end of next year.<\/p>\n \u2018Meanwhile, 52 bank branches across a variety of banking groups will close this month alone. Santander will shutter 27 locations (the most branches in May), while NatWest will close down 15, Lloyds Bank eight and Halifax two.<\/p>\n \u2018In the light of this rapid decline, the Government has pledged to look into the continuing reduction of in-person banking and its new \u201cAccess to Banking Services\u201d review was launched last week. Shockingly, the review acknowledges that \u201cthere are currently no existing protections for the provision of access to in-person banking services.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018The review will look at the state of banking through what it calls a \u201ccustomer needs lens\u201d. It will primarily focus on individuals using retail banking services, but will also include organisations such as small businesses, non-profit and community groups. However, the review is not set to conclude until October, and that could be too late given the current haemorrhaging of local banking facilities.<\/p>\n \u2018Parcelhero has long been concerned about the impact of bank branch closures on small businesses and individuals. In 2016, we published our influential report \u201c2030: The Death of the High Street\u201d.\u00a0 It predicted the closure of 100,000 stores by 2030, a finding discussed in Parliament<\/a>. The report warned that without adapting to an omnichannel approach, the rise of e-commerce would decimate traditional retail, turning town centres into \u201cghost towns\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2018In that report we noted: \u201c9,000 bank and building society branches have been closed between 1989 and 2016 \u2013 and more closures are on their way.\u201d Unfortunately, we weren\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\n