Danesborough Councillor at MKCC, David Hopkins whose ward includes the town of Woburn Sands, has been campaigning for the retention of some form of banking service in the town following the announcement of the closure of its last bank, due to close on 18 April.
In particular, some form of ATM (cashpoint service) for quick and easy access to cash and some form of face-to-face service at an alternative but established retail outlet in the town.
He is also lobbying Barclays to introduce its Digital Eagles initiative to the local community to expand the base of those confident to make best use of home banking.
Cllr Hopkins maintains that Woburn Sands and its surrounding community meets Barclays criteria for ongoing investment in localised banking services given its population, demographic and the size of the neighbouring population in its immediate hinterland.
What are the alternatives to bank branches?
1. Using the Post Office – which we gratefully still retain in Woburn Sands
2. Mobile banking vans – which Cllr Hopkins is campaigning for a van to visit Woburn Sands
3. Community bankers - professional bank staff who travel to areas with no branches and meet customers in shared local retail spaces, such as libraries or community centres.
4. Offering Technical support to bank customers who request it – again via the library
5. Support the Which Support our Freedom to Pay campaign - Cash is a necessity that millions couldn't live without, and a backup for everyone when online systems fail. But with card and digital payments becoming more and more popular and bank branches closing at an alarming rate, Cllr Hopkins shares Consumer Champions Which concerns that some people may be left behind.
6. Barclays has been rolling out a new cashback without purchase service, creating thousands of new locations for consumers to withdraw cash for free https://home.barclays/news/press-releases/2022/10/barclays-launches-free-cashback-without-purchase-service/