Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Only bank in New Deer to close in two weeks – forcing customers to travel 30 miles to nearest branch

The Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed the Aberdeenshire branch will close for good on November 26.

RBS New Deer branch
The RBS branch is New Deer's only branch. Image: Google Maps.

The only bank in New Deer will close its doors for good at the end of the month.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed the branch on Main Street will shut on Tuesday, November 26.

The closure will force customers to travel 30 miles to the nearest RBS in Fraserburgh.

Plans to close the New Deer branch were announced earlier this year with the closing date set for September 26.

Royal Bank of Scotland sign
Royal Bank of Scotland is closing a number of branches. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

However, this was delayed after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) shared new rules guaranteeing access to cash in communities.

RBS has now said the FCA is “satisfied” it is offering the appropriate support to help customers “do their banking differently”.

They have advised those who need access to cash services in-person can travel to the RBS branch in Fraserburgh or visit the Post Office in New Deer.

It is understood customers who need more assistance are being contacted by the bank’s support teams ahead of the closure.

New Deer losing Royal Bank of Scotland branch

Harriet Cross outside the New Deer RBS branch.
MP Harriet Cross has been vocal in her support to keep the bank open. Image: Harriet Cross MP.

The decision to close the New Deer bank has been described as a “betrayal” to its residents and businesses.

Gordon and Buchan MP Harriet Cross said many in local industries, including farming, reply on the branch.

She said: “I’m deeply disappointed and frustrated that RBS has been given approval to close the New Deer branch.

“It’s unacceptable that customers, who want or need the option of banking face-to-face, will now be forced to travel to Fraserburgh.

Disappointment over New Deer bank decision

“This is a betrayal of residents and local businesses, particularly in sectors such as farming, who will be hugely inconvenienced by travelling miles to make deposits or consult their account manager.

“At a time when Ellon’s last bank shut only a few months ago, this closure is a further hammer blow to New Deer and those living in the likes of Maud, Auchnagatt and Stuartfield.

Royal Bank Of Scotland on the corner of Union Street and St. Nicholas Street in Aberdeen closed on November 13.  Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

“Decisions like these are leaving the elderly and most vulnerable socially isolated.

“They are finding it increasingly impossible to manage their money because more and more barriers are being put in their way.

“I am committed to ensuring residents have access to in-person banking.

“I will be writing to RBS asking how it plans to help customers and staff left out in the cold.”

RBS customers using digital banking ‘more than ever’

Royal Bank of Scotland have said the move has come after the discovery that over 80 per cent of account holders prefer online services to in-person banking.

An RBS spokesperson said: “Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before.

“Over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of accounts with us are now opened online.

“Nonetheless, not everyone can access digital services and many others still rely on in-person transactions.

“This is why our branch network remains important to us and these change in customer behaviour means we are providing a smaller number of better branches in locations that are more accessible to a wider range of customers and that have better technology and facilities to respond to community needs.

“To that end, we are investing £10.5m in our network in Scotland, from 2023/24.”

A number of bank closures were announced by RBS in April due to increasing usage of digital banking services.

Among them was the Aberdeen St Nicholas Branch which shuts on Wednesday.

Branches at Harbour Road and the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness were confirmed for closure at the same time.

Conversation