Cambuslang (South Lanarkshire) is a town of over 28,000 people, the third largest town in South Lanarkshire, but since 2018 has had no bank in town, following the closures of branches by three banks in quick succession. According to the latest version of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), some 40% of areas (data zones) in Cambuslang East and 25% in Cambuslang West are in the bottom 20% of the SIMD. The Cambuslang community were keen to address two key issues, first, supporting financially vulnerable customers in accessing cash, and supporting small businesses to be able to access and bank cash. The local leaders of this pilot, Cambuslang Community Council, were passionate about the opportunity to support their community though better access to cash, education and, ultimately, influencing the coming legislation change.
Services that were made available through the pilots:
FOR INDIVIDUALS
A new Bank Hub, run jointly by the major banks and the Post Office, offers essential banking services for personal and small business customers of all the major banks. The Bank Hub provides a private environment which is suitable for managing transactions securely. The Bank Hub is located at 158 Main Street G72 7EL and open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Following the pilot period, the Hub has remained open, and the banks are committed to operating the service until at least April 2023.
Community Bank support. Many of the largest banks offered face to face services in the Bank Hub to support their local customers, in a dedicated room these are still running. Each bank manages their time in their own way, although all banks operated drop-in services so people can walk in without an appointment. These operating days are:
Monday – Royal Bank of Scotland
Tuesday – Santander
Wednesday – Virgin Money
Thursday – Bank of Scotland
Friday – TSB
ATM. There are now two, not just one free to use ATMs in Cambuslang. One is run by NatWest on Main Street, the ATM in Corky’s has also been made free to use as a result of the pilots.
Cashback from local retailers with or without a purchase. A number of local stores offered cashback during the pilots, as did existing shops which had PayPoint terminals. All retailers with PayPoint terminals will continue to offer cashback free to consumers.
Guide to what banks can offer. The banks offer a wide range of services that most people don’t know about. In fact, as we set up these pilots, we had requests for a lot of services – and found that many were already offered. We wrote a short guide to these services.
Getting debt advice, and support to manage money more effectively. The local community worked with Citizens Advice Scotland to support customers who needed help with both budgeting and to offer debt advice. The Bank Hub also supported (and will continue to support) people to do their banking in other ways including digital.
FOR BUSINESSES
Faster deposits for small businesses – in private.
A Bank Hub, run by jointly by the banks and the which offers essential banking services for consumers and small businesses, for customers of all the major banks. The Bank Hub is located at 158 Main Street G72 7EL and is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Following the pilots, the Bank Hub will remain open until at least April 2023
Out of hours ‘bag drop’ service – We offered this service in Cambuslang, operating longer hours, located in the community and run by NoteMachine. Local businesses could sign up to use the service, and simply deposit cash out of hours.
Cashback – We offered local retailers, cafes and restaurants the option to give out cashback to consumers, with costs covered by the pilot