PLAID CYMRU County Councillor for Penparc, Clive Davies, has expressed his frustration following the failure of the NatWest mobile banking van to be present at Cardigan town centre on January 3.
Since the closure of the NatWest branch in Cardigan in May 2018, customers have been serviced by a weekly mobile bank every Thursday at the Fairfield Car Park between 11:10 and 11:55.
However, on the evening of Wednesday 3, Cllr Davies was informed the mobile bank would not be present at the town on following day due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ – with the bank suggesting on social media that customers could use the banking services located at the local post office instead.
Cllr Davies said: “Simply put, the absence of NatWest banking van from Cardigan is completely unacceptable. Access to banking services had already been reduced due to the Christmas period, and Natwest’s cancellation last week was frustrating for many small businesses and customers looking to take advantage of the banking facilities available.
“The suggestion by NatWest that customers should rather use banking services at the local post office, is both and incorrect misleading with many services unavailable at the post office or may take a longer time to be processed.
“Frustratingly, many customers like myself were rather faced with a lengthy journey to Carmarthen or Aberystwyth as to partake in their banking duties – rather than the ability to do so locally, as should be the case.”
The mobile bank was also absent from Newcastle Emlyn on Thursday 3rd of January 2019, with local customers expressing frustration at a lack of prior notice to such absence.
Ben Lake MP, who has tabled a bill in Parliament aiming to enhance access to banking services in rural areas, added: “Customers across Ceredigion have been in contact to share problems they have encountered with the mobile banking service, and by far the most common complaint is the brief window of time that the van has at every stop. The loss of 5-day-a-week access with the closure of so many branches, and the transition to a slot of less than an hour each week is difficult enough, without last-minute cancellations such as these.
“There is no doubt that the way in which we bank is undergoing a transformation. Despite successive assurances and promises by high street banks that they are committed to serving our communities, the service that we receive in rural areas is greatly reduced. Whilst a mobile banking service is better than complete abandonment, it simply cannot offer the service that so many customers and businesses require. As such, I am pushing in my parliamentary bill for banks to co-locate in areas that they would otherwise vacate completely – to establish banking ‘hubs’ that would ensure rural areas can access the services that they need, throughout the week.”
