Call to speed-up ‘banking hub’ rollout as Swanley traders and shoppers left in ‘desperate need’

Traders and shoppers in a commuter town have been left crying out for a “proper banking service” after being deserted by high street banks.As more major firms pack up their brick and mortar branches the loss of often vital in-person services continues to gather at a pace across Kent town and villages.Swanley has three cash points outside Asda but hasn't had a bank for two yearsSome have now been left with no bank branches at all.Among those places is Swanley, which relies on a limited number of services at a Post Office branch and a pop up Barclays van which visits the town once a week - but can only offer advice.Barclays Bank shut its branch in the town’s shopping centre in November 2021.Plans were submitted earlier this year for a McDonald’s to take its place, opposite the GP surgery, which were later approved with the fast-food chain poised to move in later this month.Daniela Korzanowski, who uses Barclays and has lived in the town since 1976, said: “We’ve got absolutely no banks left, which has a big impact on the elderly.Barclays in Swanley is to be replaced by a new McDonald's restaurant“I do online banking so it’s not too much of a problem with me but a few weeks ago I needed to ring them and I was on the phone for an hour and a half. I gave up in the end.“One of my friends is 80 and she has to get a bus to Dartford if she wants to go to the bank because she doesn’t drive.“She doesn’t do online banking because she has a dodo phone, and the bus can also be unreliable.”Daniela’s dad is 84 and also uses Barclays so if he needs to go he has visit Dartford.“Its definitely not easy for the elderly,” the 54-year-old added. “Hopefully something will be sorted soon, especially for the older people.“Not only that but for people like me because I don’t drive.”Daniela Korzanowski has lived in Swanley for nearly 50 years, and says the town is in need of banking servicesNot long after Barclay’s departure, NatWest followed suit and closed in the town in May 2022 after a “falling demand for its services”.Between 2018 and 2020 counter transactions for personal customers at the branch in The Mall, London Road decreased by 30%. In 2019 only 17 people used it on a regular basis.Plans were submitted in September last year to turn the unit into SupaJam, a music and media college. They were approved the following month, however works have not yet started..The nearest branches are now 13 miles away in Dartford High Street, or 18 miles away in Orpington High Street.Both Halifax, which is now Beautiful Nails, and Nationwide shut years before – which means the town has had no banks for more than two years.The former NatWest building in Swanley, which is being turned into a music college. Picture: Google MapsRachel Waterton, Independent district councillor for Crockenhill and Well Hill, believes the lack of banks in the town is making it “less appealing” to the surrounding rural villages.She explained: “A lot of elderly people are suffering because of this situation as they don’t drive, they rely on public transport and they like to do their banking face-to-face.“They don’t have access or want to do their banking online. In Crockenhill, we’re about two miles away from Swanley.“I think not having any banks makes it less appealing to residents and they’re probably travelling into Orpington because it has got a much more varied high street and there are banks there.”People living in Swanley village, which is separate to the town, are also not able to get cash out 24/7 unless they travel to the town to access the cash machines there.Cllr Rachel Waterton. Picture: Sevenoaks councilThe 44-year-old added: “I think accessibility to banking and cash is becoming more and more problematic.“It impacts young people as well. My biggest problem with the whole situation is that I like meeting people and talking face-to-face.”And Rachel fears the digital transition is having a negative impact on society overall.“I hate how everything is automated,” she added. “I have also noticed that when you go into banks a lot of the time they try to encourage you to use an online system rather than actually talking to a cashier.”“It just makes me feel very sad that our options are becoming fewer and fewer and people are being kind of phased out with everything online being phased in.I like cash and I like doing things the old-fashioned way“I like cash and I like doing things the old-fashioned way.”The lack of banks in the town has also had an impact on local businesses.Shane Millims, general manager at the YMCA charity shop, said: “I think the worst thing for us is we can’t get any change anywhere.“So when someone comes in with a £20 note and I’ve got no pound coins I can’t go to the post office they won’t give me any change.“If there’s no change I have to put a sign up at the till saying correct money or card only.”Swanley Market also takes place every Wednesday and Sunday, with all stall holders operating on a cash-only basis.The YMCA charity shop says it is unable to get change anywhere following the loss of banks in Swanley. Picture: Google MapsOne trader said: “Having no banks in the area causes big problems for us especially when we need to make sure we have change.“It’s becoming a nightmare and we’re in desperate need for a proper banking service in the area”.Another added: “We’ve been here for years and we’ve always only taken cash, sometimes the machines run out on market day which causes a lot of problems”.Swanley has three cash points, which are all outside Asda.There is a small banking counter at the post office in London Road where customers can check their balance, withdraw cash, pay in cash and cheques, and pay bills. However, general banking advice is not available.A pop-up van comes to Swanley once a week, however workers are only able to offer adviceA Barclays pop up van parks up in the town centre every Wednesday but you cannot pay in or take out cash with services limited to advice only.Ryan Hayman, chief executive of Swanley Town Council, has been campaigning for a banking hub in the town alongside Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott.So-called banking hubs are being set up across the country in response to branch and cash machine closures in recent years.They offer basic banking services and access to cash and are shared by a number of high street banks, which rotate offering their services during the week.Explaining the need for one in Swanley, Ryan said: “When the banks closed, we received an extraordinary number of complaints from residents.“Some of their stories were quite upsetting, with people saying they physically couldn’t get to Sidcup because they might be not mobility-able or some people couldn't afford to.Swanley Town Council’s CEO Ryan Hayman“A lot of businesses came forward to us as well.”Once NatWest shut, the town council contacted LINK, the UK's main ATM network, and Cash Access UK to push for a banking hub.LINK assesses the criteria, which is created by the government, and Cash Action Group, a not-for-profit company owned and funded by major banks, installs the banking hub itself.However, Swanley’s appeal was rejected around 18 months ago.Ryan added: “To our dismay we didn’t meet the criteria because the number of cash-using retail units was below 70.”The Financial Conduct Authority recently changed the eligibility criteria for banking hubs, with the new rules coming into effect from September.The post office in Swanley provides a limited number of banking servicesThis meant Swanley was automatically eligible for a reassessment, which took place on October 30.The old criteria took into account the number of cash-relevant businesses within a one kilometre radius of the town centre.However, this has now been changed to a one mile radius – which may work in Swanley’s favour as more of its cash-relevant businesses will be assessed.It also takes into account the population of an area.In September, a banking hub was approved in nearby Sidcup, south east London, which raised the question about if Swanley’s appeal would be impacted.However, if a banking hub is more than 15 minutes away from a town via public transport, it will not be deemed close enough to have an impact – and Sidcup is 22 minutes away by bus.Ryan added: “We have a massive market that is cash only and we've got a number of units inside other stores, and more stores coming further down the line, so a banking hub is very much needed”.A decision on the banking hub proposal is expected to be made by Wednesday, December 11.