WITH another 16 bank branches in the north due to close between now and the end of October, the boss of a leading financial comparison website has urged lenders to invest more into the online and telephone customer experience.
Around 300 banks across the UK are listed for closure this year, leaving many communities without the cash access and deposit services they require.
In Northern Ireland, HSBC branches in Derry and Omagh, and the Halifax outlet at Belfast's Shaftsbury Square will close imminently, as are Danske Bank branches in Cookstown, Lurgan, Kilkeel and Fivemiletown.
And also pulling down the shutters on dates in September and October are Ulster Bank outlets in Antrim, Ballymoney, Clogher, Comber, Dunmurry, Holywood, Larne, Maghera and Warrenpoint.
David Beard, founder and chief executive of comparison site, Lendingexpert.co.uk, said: “I'm not surprised so many bank branches are set to close this year, but I hope they'll plough the money they've saved into better online and telephone banking experiences for their customers.
“It's unacceptable for a customer to wait longer than five minutes to speak to someone from their bank. There's no excuse to skimp on customer service agents considering the vast amount of money banks are saving from closing branches.”
He added: “Post offices are a good alternative for basic transactions for those needing to pay in cash and cheques, but this move will undoubtedly leave some rural communities and customers that don't want to use the internet high and dry.”
Under an initiative agreed earlier this year by the Cash Action Group, the UK's largest cash machine network Link was asked to analyse the impact of the planned closures on local communities.
Under the voluntary agreement, banking firms agreed to notify Link of their planned branch closures, and it will then assess whether the community’s needs can still be met even after the closure has taken place.
