RBS TO CLOSE TWO DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY BRANCHES
Written by author on August 7, 2015
THE Royal Bank of Scotland is to close it’s Whitesands branch in Dumfries as well as the Kirkcudbright branch before the end of the year.
The shock news comes only months after Dalbeattie’s High Street Royal Bank of Scotland branch was closed.
The RBS Dumfries Whitesands branch will close on the 29th October 2015 and the RBS Kirkcudbright branch on the 16th November 2015.
They say that the number of transactions at Kirkcudbright branch has dropped by 23 per cent since 2011 and the Whitesands branch is down by 22 per cent in the last four years.
A spokesman for RBS said: “We are working hard to ensure there are a number of alternative ways for people in the area to continue to bank with us including:
For RBS Kirkcudbright:
Post Office: We have reached an agreement with the local Post Office, which is 0.04 miles away from the branch so that our customers can check their balance, deposit and withdraw funds, and business customers can get coinage. There are two Post Offices within 3.5 miles of the branch.
ATMs: We intend to retain our ATM in the local community, and there are also 2 other free to use ATMs within 1 mile of the branch.
Mobile branch: We are introducing a Mobile Branch service to the community and we will be engaging with our customers and the local community to understand the best day and time for the mobile branch to visit.
The number of transactions taking place at Kirkcudbright branch has dropped by 23% since 2011.
For RBS Dumfries Whitesands:
Post Office: We have reached an agreement with the local Post Office, which is 0.04 miles away from the branch so that our customers can check their balance, deposit and withdraw funds, and business customers can get coinage. There are 5 Post Offices within 2 miles of the branch.
ATMs: We intend to retain our ATM in the local community, and there are also over 30 free to use ATMs within 1 mile of the branch.
Other branches: Our nearest branch, Dumfries High Street, is 0.1 miles away which we will be investing up to £600K in this year.
The spokesman went on: “We are committed to following the UK Government protocol on branch closures, and we have made the decision following careful consideration of a wide range of factors including branch usage and the alternative ways our customers can bank with us locally.
“Our customers are increasingly using alternative ways to bank with them such as online and mobile banking. As a result, branch transactions have declined by around 36% since 2010 whilst online and mobile transactions have grown by more than 300%. Only 9% of their total transactions are now undertaken in branches in comparison to 25% in 2010.
“We are writing to all of our customers who use the branch, as well as displaying posters in branch to let them know of the closure. Between now and the closure date, we will engage with all of our customers, local businesses and the wider local community to make sure they are aware of the alternative ways of accessing their banking with us in the local area, and to answer any questions they might have.”
