Age Scotland’s said the announcement was disappointing but not surprising

A charity for older people has called on the Bank of Scotland (BoS) to ditch its plans to close eight branches in Scotland.

Recently the bank announced plans to close local branches in Burnside, Dundee, Glasgow, Keith, Kirriemuir, Lossiemouth, Paisley and Stonehouse.

It is understood the branches are planned to close between February and June 2019.

Age Scotland’s chief executive Brian Sloan said the announcement was disappointing but not surprising.

He called for a rethink: “Yes, many people now do their banking online. But it’s easy to forget that not everyone uses the internet or feels confident banking online. Although three quarters of Scotland’s older population is already connected, a substantial proportion are not – and this number rises with age.

“Physical branches are important to older people. They prefer having a face-to-face conversation about their finances with a real person. As older people are more likely to be targeted for scams, they’re less likely to go online or use the phone for banking and they shouldn’t be disadvantaged for making this choice. Indeed, 67% of people over 75 don’t use the internet at all.”

“It’s important for banks to look for innovative solutions and not just take the easy route of closures. Our recommendation of shared banking hubs for smaller communities, suburbs and rural areas is gathering support from older people and politicians across Scotland.”

A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group, which owns BoS, said: “These branch closures are in response to changing customer behaviour and the reduced number of transactions being made in branches.

“All branches announced for closure have a Post Office nearby, so customers can still access their banking locally.

“We continue to make a significant investment in our branches and are committed to maintaining the largest network in the UK.”