Banks
I was having a discussion with extended family over Christmas and someone asked the interesting question “what is the most pointless shop in the high street”. Me being me, I asked for some clarification as to the parameters of this axiom, which I eventually got. The refined version of the question was to name a business that no longer enjoyed the custom that it did fifty years ago. This could be due to societal or technological change. There were some initial suggestions such as the newsagents but this was quickly dismissed. Newsagents don’t just sell newspapers anymore and are effectively small franchise, general purpose stores these days. Butchers were also put forward but subsequently rejected. They still exist and tend to be confined to more affluent areas. But I digress. The answer that was finally agreed upon were banks.
I opened my first bank account in 1984, before I left school, in preparation for entering the job market. I visited my local branch of Lloyds Bank, where I provided my National Insurance Number as ID and deposited £10. Within a week I was sent a chequebook. At the time I worked casually and was paid cash, so I had to go to the bank every few weeks to pay money in. A few years later when I had left school and secured a full time job with the UK civil service, my wages were paid monthly, directly into my bank account. Hence my visits become less frequent. By this time ATMs were becoming commonplace, especially in major cities, so I started using these for my cash requirements. Throughout the nineties, I would visit a bank to deposit cash into a savings account and there would also be occasional visits to arrange a loan, mortgage or to purchase foreign currency for a holiday.
Since then I have embraced every new technological innovation that banks have offered and as result have used my local branch less and less. I no longer have a chequebook and very rarely pay one into my account. If I do it can be done via my phone. Today I have two bank accounts and two savings accounts. My primary interaction with any of them is always via a phone app or my desktop PC. Out of those four banks, two of them do not have any physical premises, existing as purely online entities. The other two “legacy” banks still have local branches throughout the UK but these are rapidly vanishing due to a lack of demand. Small businesses that handle cash and older customers still use the counter services provided at branch level but it’s not sustainable in the long term. Some bank chains would happily close all local branches immediately but decline to do so, as it has become a political hot potato.
Toscana Italian Restaurant, formerly a branch of Lloyds Bank
Domestic banking has traditionally been free in the UK. A basic bank account does not charge a customer for cash withdrawal or levy transaction fees. However, in recent years some banks have broadened their business model and there are now fees on high interest accounts or a requirement to maintain a minimum balance. There has also been an increase in foreign banks offering domestic banking services and these often do charge fees, especially for customers with low credit ratings. The financial landscape has also radically changed in my lifetime. The majority of the UK workforce now have their salary paid into their bank account on a monthly basis. Payment in cash is far less common and the use of cash in day-to-day transactions is also declining. Credit is far more readily available compared to the seventies. Saving has become less popular with many people having little or no reserves of money.
Hence, it would appear that for many people, especially the under 30s, banks are “the most pointless shop in the high street”. I last visited mine in March last year because I was dealing with the dispersal of funds from my late parents estate. I have not been again since then. Looking at my local highstreet, many of the “legacy” bank branches have closed. Due to their prime locations, many become bars. The branch of Lloyds where I opened my first account in 1984 is now a very good Italian restaurant. However, a few branches still persist, proving old habits die hard. Although I use a debit card, I still ensure I have cash on me, favouring a belt and braces approach. However, I suspect there will come a time in the not too distant future, when domestic banks will finally vanish from the high street and the UK finally becomes a cashless society as well.
