Stewartry residents are struggling to access cash due to a string of bank closures.
A report by the Scottish Affairs Committee’s Access to Cash in Scotland report has found that 53 per cent of the country’s banks have closed since 2015.
The Stewartry has been particularly badly hit, with Dalbeattie having had no bank since 2017. Kirkcudbright will be in the same situation when the Bank of Scotland shuts next month, with TSB in Castle Douglas closing last year.
The committee fears the closures will affect people who do not use online banking or have struggled to adapt to digital payments.
Chairman and SNP MSP Pete Wishart said: “While the move to digital banking and payments has offered a method at which to do transactions that many of us enjoy, we cannot forget the 500,000 people in Scotland who rely on cash in their day-to-day lives.
“With the cost of living crisis deepening, many people are using cash for budgeting.
“But what is deeply worrying is that bank branches are closing at a record rate with very limited research or thought conducted of the possible widespread implications.”
The report urges the UK Government to support free access to cash through free-to-use ATMs in the most rural and deprived areas of the UK. It is currently provided by voluntary organisations such as Link’s Financial Inclusion Programme.
The committee’s concerns are echoed by Age Scotland.
Head of policy and communications, Adam Stachura, said: “As the cost of living rises, it is more important than ever that older people can access their money in cash form for free whenever they need to. Many older people would be lost without cash, which allows them to confidently and safely budget, spend and feel in control of their finances.
“This is particularly important for people on low and fixed incomes, as well as the hundreds of thousands of over 60s in Scotland who do not have access to the internet.
“The move towards an increasingly cashless society has undoubtedly been sped up by Covid-19 but, even before the pandemic, bank branches and free to use cash machines were disappearing at an alarming rate, leaving older and more vulnerable customers cut off from vital services and making it harder for them to manage their money.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “We recognise that cash is a vital for millions of people across the UK.
“That’s why we are legislating to ensure people will continue to be able to access cash, and have
already legislated to enable shops to offer cashback to customers, regardless of whether they make
a purchase.”
