A SCOTTISH minister has welcomed plans for a shared banking hub in Forres following the recent closure of the last bank branch in town.
Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work Richard Lochhead, who is also the SNP MSP for Moray, said he has been pushing for a such a hub since the Bank of Scotland's building was closed earlier this year.
Carluke, Kirkcudbright and Brechin are the three other Scottish towns that will benefit from the scheme.
The hubs, which are run by the Post Office, mean customers of any bank can access their accounts, deposit cash and cheques and withdraw money at any time.
While the running costs of the hubs are the same as a small branch they are shared between different banking groups that use it.
Welcoming the announcement, Lochhead said: “People and businesses in Forres will be relieved to hear that the town is included in plans for the next rollout of banking hubs.
“This was something I and the community called for following the closure of the last bank on the High Street earlier this year.
“It is hugely important that people are able to access cash and banking services in their local community and I hope we will see this new hub open its doors as soon as possible.
“There can be no delays, the community needs this service to be made available and they need it fast.”
Natalie Ceeney, who chairs the Cash Action Group which is overseeing the project, said: "Cash still matters hugely to millions of people across the UK and with the cost-of-living crisis biting, more and more people are turning to cash as a way of budgeting effectively. Banking Hubs are an important part of the solution."
John Howells, chief executive of Link, the biggest interbank network in the UK, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “Cash is disappearing at a frightening rate, and so are ATMs and branches and it is not acceptable to leave communities without access to cash.”
The announcement saw cross-party support, with Scottish Tory leader and Moray MP Douglas Ross calling it a “very positive step forward for the future of banking services in Forres”.
He said: “A town and community the size of Forres should never been disgracefully abandoned like they have been in recent years by major banking branches.
"What was worse was that these bosses clearly were not interested in the concerns of loyal customers and could not be bothered to come to Forres to hear from them.
“I look forward to these plans developing at pace in the coming weeks and months.”
Among the 13 new proposed sites for banking hubs, four are in Scotland and, for the first time, one is in Northern Ireland.
They will be in Brechin in Angus, Forres in Moray, Carluke in Lanarkshire, Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, Axminster in Devon, Barton-upon-Humber in Lincolnshire, Lutterworth in Leicestershire, Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, Cheadle in Staffordshire, Belper in Derbyshire, Maryport in Cumbria, Hornsea in Yorkshire and Kilkeel.
