[Brighton] Barclays in Hove closing, replacing it with Banking Van parked in graveyard

[surrey jim]

Yes, online banking is useful. But bank branches are still busy and not just with the elderly. You go in and you generally have to queue. You can't do everything online

Genuinely interested what services your bank offers in branch but not online?

 

[Mustafa II]

Genuinely interested what services your bank offers in branch but not online?

Paying in cash.

 

[schmunk]

This. I was initially quite sad that the cashpoint had gone, there's a couple of small traders on Boundary / Station Rd I like to pay in cash and the barn at The Swan only takes cash.

Whilst still not nothing, competition in the space has really pushed down fees for card payments.

Not a recommendation, as I'm not a user, but I understand the current price leader is Revolut, who only charge 0.8% + £0.02 per transaction (after £49 upfront for the card reader). For most businesses, these fees should easily be swallowed up by the extra trade put off by 'cash only' requirements.

 

[schmunk]

Paying in cash.

Many banks now allow cash and cheques to be paid in at Post Offices, including for business accounts.

Everyday Banking | Personal and Business Accounts | Post Office

Manage your personal or business Everyday Banking over the counter at any of our 11,500 UK Post Offices. Learn more about our banking services at postoffice.co.uk.

www.postoffice.co.uk

 

[TomandJerry]

Genuinely interested what services your bank offers in branch but not online?

Opening a shared bank account has to be done in a store as far as I'm aware

 

[Si Gull]

Genuinely interested what services your bank offers in branch but not online?

Sorting out technical problems with the online account. Mine was set up with two errors. Tried fixing it online via Chat, emails, phone calls. Bank's online technical department useless. After more than 18 months of trying I went into the branch and they eventually sorted it.

Also, 3rd party operation of an account cannot be set up online.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Genuinely interested what services your bank offers in branch but not online?

Last time I was in was to set up a power of attorney. I think the time before to change up some coins. Bet there are loads other reasons, as like I said, there are always plenty of people there

 

[PeterT]

The most famous person buried in that graveyard is Sir George Everest, after whom Mount Everest was named:

Sir George Everest, CB, FRS, FRAS, FRGS was a British surveyor and geographer who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. After receiving a military education in Marlow, Everest joined the East India Company and arrived in India at the age of 16.
Born: 4 July 1790, Crickhowell
Died: 1 December 1866, London
Place of burial: St Andrew's Church, Hove

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Genuinely interested what services your bank offers in branch but not online?

Pretty much anything involving a foreign currency account with Barclays. Can’t do anything online except see your balance. Can’t even see a statement online. Also had plenty of issues for business banking that couldn’t be resolved online and required to be sorted in branch

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Pretty much anything involving a foreign currency account with Barclays. Can’t do anything online except see your balance. Can’t even see a statement online. Also had plenty of issues for business banking that couldn’t be resolved online and required to be sorted in branch

It's a domestic bank account but Barclays have travel wallets which can be in euros or dollars, which is brilliant for holidays. Transfer between accounts, and pay in local currency.
The travel wallets are online.

 

[Si Gull]

The Lloyds in Boundary Road closed down recently as well. In fairness, its once in a blue moon I actually go into a bank (on the rare occasion someone who is still living in 1987 sends me a cheque). Online banking all the way for me, although I appreciate a lot of the wrinklies aren't as up to speed with it.

It's not just the 'wrinklies'. Online banking is a nightmare/impossibility for many visually and/or mentally impaired folk.

 

[hart's shirt]

They've lost the plot.

 

[Justice]

Paying in cash.

Why would you want to do that? Insanity keep it under the mattress.

 

[MattBackHome]

The most famous person buried in that graveyard is Sir George Everest, after whom Mount Everest was named:

Sir George Everest, CB, FRS, FRAS, FRGS was a British surveyor and geographer who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. After receiving a military education in Marlow, Everest joined the East India Company and arrived in India at the age of 16.
Born: 4 July 1790, Crickhowell
Died: 1 December 1866, London
Place of burial: St Andrew's Church, Hove

Yes you're right.

Also buried there is his not-quite-as-successful contemporary; Sir Isambard Disraeli K2.

 

[marcos3263]

I've been with Barclays since I was a boy - so about 35 years. slowly they have closed Portslade, Southwick, Hangleton, Steyning - all branches I used but they always said there a re main branches in Hove and Brighton. Now Hove is going - taking the piss.

I know banking is changing and its mainly cashless, contactless etc but you still need a safety net, someone to talk to etc.

I used to be a 'special' customer with various advantages, but these have all been whittled away as well.

time to change??

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It’s starting to become a struggle to find cashpoints now innit. Now that Barclays and Lloyds have copped off from Southwick Square, the only cashpoint there is at the Co-Op, and it’s a bit of a shonky one at that.

Do supermarkets give cash back? Most of my transactions are by iPhone these days, whenever we need some hard cash we just ask for it at the supermarket.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Whilst still not nothing, competition in the space has really pushed down fees for card payments.

Not a recommendation, as I'm not a user, but I understand the current price leader is Revolut, who only charge 0.8% + £0.02 per transaction (after £49 upfront for the card reader). For most businesses, these fees should easily be swallowed up by the extra trade put off by 'cash only' requirements.

I think the issue with the barn in The Swan is that they can't get any reception out there for the machines. They have card machines IN the pub but there's normally a huge queue for the bar inside as a result.

 

[Seagull27]

Last time I was in was to set up a power of attorney. I think the time before to change up some coins. Bet there are loads other reasons, as like I said, there are always plenty of people there

It's quite possible to do all banking digitally if you want to, and are with a bank with decent app/online services. I haven't been into a bank for well over 5 years, and my current bank is app-only and doesn't have any branches. Never had an issue, and have been able to pay in cash/cheques on the one or two occasions I've needed to in the last 5 years without visiting a branch.

Ultimately a bank is a business and if keeping a branch open isn't cost effective, they'll close it. They don't have an obligation to keep them open just because some people don't want to - or can't - bank digitally. They may lose some of those customers, but I expect they've worked out they'll benefit overall.

 

[Brovion]

Yes, online banking is useful. But bank branches are still busy and not just with the elderly. You go in and you generally have to queue. You can't do everything online

Indeed. There is currently an advert for Nationwide (I think) where the manager wants to close the banking hall and says everyone banks on-line anyway these days. The sidekick says something like: "What about people who've lost all their life savings to scammers?" The manager dismisses it by saying "That's what chatbots are for." (Sadly though the last few times I've seen the ad it seems to be an edited version which misses that bit out and just jumps straight to some irrelevant comment about an ex-wife - it was probably too true for comfort even for Nationwide).

I completely accept the argument that 95% plus can be done on-line, even by us oldies. However the thing is sometimes you DO need one-to-one interaction, to be able to talk to someone. And I don't just mean some drone in a call centre (assuming you can get through). Shared banking hubs are probably the way forward.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

A bank closing is usually a sign that the majority of its customers bank on-line.

Precisely.

I am struggling to recall the last time I carried cash, let alone used it. Maybe once in the last 5 years?