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.

List of north and north east communities where Bank of Scotland has axed mobile branches

More than 20 towns and villages across the region are affected.

A blue Bank of Scotland mobile bank drives through Beauly.
The Bank of Scotland has announced plans to axe mobile banking services in towns and villages across the north and north-east. Image: Sandy McCook. DC Thomson.

Bank of Scotland is set to axe its mobile banking service, which serves rural communities across the north and north-east.

The decision to scrap the service in May 2024 has been blamed on a reduction in footfall, with some locations being used by just two customers.

Mobile branch visits have fallen by 90% since 2018, with branches helping just 14 customers, on average, during their route.

Bank of Scotland introduced the first fleet of mobile banks in April 1963, in a bid to service rural communities.

In recent years, the scheme was expanded as traditional High Street branches closed their doors for good.

Over 20 places will be affected:

Grampian

  • Aberlour
  • Aboyne
  • Alford
  • Burghead
  • Cullen
  • Fochabers
  • Huntly
  • Insch
  • Keith
  • Kingswells
  • Lossiemouth
  • Portlethen
  • Portsoy
  • Turriff
  • Westhill

Highlands

  • Beauly
  • Bonor Bridge
  • Dornoch
  • Fortrose
  • Grantown on Spey
  • Helmsdale
  • Kingussie
  • Lairg

Community bankers to replace mobile banking

In light of the closures, the firm is introducing more community bankers.

Community bankers will provide targeted banking support in local communities where a branch is closing.

They will offer face-to-face services to customers in their local communities, including making payments, account enquiries and online banking support. There is information below on which locations will be receiving a Community Banker.

Residents in Bonar Bridge, Dornoch, Grantown-on-Spey, Helmsdale, Lossiemouth and Turriff will benefit from the service.

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid is calling for a meeting with members of the Bank of Scotland to discuss the “shameful” decision.

He said: “It’s shocking that at a time when banks are closing in these areas, residents are now being stripped of mobile services which provide a lifeline to rural communities.

“Older people who use cash and their local bank are finding it increasingly impossible to manage their money because more and more barriers are being put in their way.

“This decision highlights the shameful attitude of banks towards providing face-to-face facilities which is resulting in vulnerable people being abandoned.

“Rural areas desperately rely on these services which is why I have asked to meet with the Bank of Scotland to see what can be done to help their most vulnerable customers across Aberdeenshire and Moray.”

Bank of Scotland claim some services used by just two customers

A Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: “Customers have been using our mobile branches much less over time and some locations now have as little as two customers using the service.

“We’ll be introducing more Community Bankers, alongside the other options customers already have for their banking including the Post Office, online, our mobile apps, phone banking, video services and web chat.

“All colleagues will continue in roles across our business.”

Will you miss mobile banking? Get in touch with us via email at livenews@ajl.co.uk.

Conversation