Lloyds to Shut 136 Branches as Customers Move to Apps
Lloyds Banking Group plans to close another 136 locations by March of next year, claiming that consumers are increasingly adopting digital channels for day-to-day banking.
It is the latest in a series of branch closures, with the bank and its competitors already implementing previously announced closure plans.
According to the latest news, 61 Lloyds, 61 Halifax, and 14 Bank of Scotland branches will be gradually shuttered beginning in May.
It comes the day after a government minister emphasized the importance of having access to cash for needy people.
Continuing Trend
Lloyds blamed the decision to close the branches on customers' shift away from in-person banking to mobile alternatives.
Transactions at these branches have fallen by an average of 48% over the last five years as clients increasingly utilize its app for payments, according to Lloyds.
Once finished, the proposals will reduce the number of Lloyds branches to 386, Halifax to 281 branches, and Bank of Scotland to 90.
The bank stated that all employees at the affected branches would be offered jobs elsewhere within the corporation.
According to the consumer organization Which?, banks and building societies have shuttered 6,266 branches since January 2015, an average of 53 each month.
A Lloyds spokeswoman said customers still had plenty of options, thanks in part to a commitment to allow them to utilize services across many brands - a move that a union warned could lead to additional branch closures.
"Alongside our apps, customers can also use telephone banking, visit a community banker or use any Halifax, Lloyds or Bank of Scotland branch, giving access to many more branches," according to her.
"Customers can also do their everyday banking at over 11,000 branches of the Post Office or in a banking hub."
However, just 100 of these hubs, which allow banks to share facilities for basic banking services, have opened thus far in the UK, with another 100 set to open. Some people have expressed concern that they do not have access to basic services such as printers.
Under relatively recent guidelines, branch closures must be reviewed by Link, which also administers the cash machine network, if they leave areas without access to cash deposit and withdrawal services.
According to the most recent announcement, banking hubs should be established in 21 locations: Annan, Alexandria, Bishopbriggs, Brigg, Caterham, Glossop, Falmouth, Fleetwood, Helensburgh, Horsforth, Houghton le Spring, Hucknall, Leominster, Manchester Moston, Nelson, Peterlee, Seaton, Sleaford, Thornbury Avon, Tunstall, and Wymondham.
Emma Reynolds, the new economic secretary to the Treasury, stated that the government was committed to opening more hubs to guarantee that vulnerable individuals, in particular, have access to cash.
She did, however, rule out legislation requiring merchants and service providers to accept cash. They can go card-only if they want to.
According to banking sector statistics, only 12% of payments are made in cash. However, 1.5 million people primarily use notes and coins in their everyday lives, with many finding it easier to budget with physical money when faced with cost-of-living pressures.