Banking Services: Accessibility

Katrina Murray Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) on securing this timely and appropriate debate. I will tell you a tale of three towns with relatively big populations on the outskirts of Glasgow, of a number of banks, of the actions of one banking group in particular, and of a community fight back.

When a bank moves out, what replaces it? For far too many communities the answer has been nothing. In Kilsyth in my constituency, that was exactly the situation. The last bank branch, the TSB, closed in 2021 prior to any automatic assessment for a community banking hub. When that branch went, something more than a service was lost. It meant longer journeys, less footfall, and real anxiety for people who simply want to manage their banking face to face.

I know from experience, having lost my father last year, that my mum—in her 80s, dealing with the bereavement and having to close his accounts—wanted to deal with the bank face to face. She did not feel comfortable using an app and did not want to talk to a call centre—they did not understand Scots law. I have spoken to local businesses that handle cash every day, which were left asking where they were supposed to go, and to older residents—not my mum—who do not bank online and should not be expected to, and I heard time and again that people should not have felt forgotten.

But Kilsyth did not accept it. The community spoke up. A request was made by my team, working with the local Labour councillors, Councillor Jean Jones and Councillor Heather Brannan-McVey, whose mum, Nan, was one of the previous bank staff—Heather is still known as “Nan from the bank’s daughter”—and indeed the whole local community. Link carried out the assessment, and we are expecting the interim banking hub for Kilsyth to be opened in the next few weeks.

This is what good looks like, in an area that lost its bank five years ago—a shared banking space; cash in and cash out; bill payments at the counter; customers being able to speak to somebody who will talk them through all the things they need to do. Every bank does different things through the hub. One improvement that could be made would be to offer a full range of banking services—but on different days, staff are there from different banks to deal with things that cannot be done on the app. It is not a perfect replica of the past, but it is a practical solution for the future. Crucially, it puts banking back where it belongs: in the community. In Kilsyth, it enables people to manage their money locally again and lets businesses bank their takings without leaving town, without pushing aside those who rely on cash. But communities like Kilsyth should not have to fight that hard just to get the basics back.

I want to talk about another banking group and the closure of Santander in Cumbernauld. We were notified in 2024 of a plan to close the Cumbernauld branch of Santander, with a suitable alternative available in Kirkintilloch, eight miles away or 25 minutes on one bus. The Cumbernauld branch closed on 3 July 2025. In late January, a few months ago, notification was given that the Santander branch in Kirkintilloch would close on 29 April, with alternative provision available in central Glasgow, 10 miles away from Cumbernauld and over an hour by most buses. I contend that if the plans had been more transparent, the original Cumbernauld closure should not have been supported, because there was not a reasonable alternative in place.

This is about making things transparent, being honest with communities, making sure people are not pushed aside and making sure we have systems for everybody. Banking hubs show what is possible when communities are listened to and industry steps up, but they are not a one-off success story. I ask the Minister: how do we go further and faster? How do we ensure transparency? How do we make sure more communities like Kilsyth, Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch get the access they need? How do we make sure we get face-to-face banking and not just cash? It is not a luxury.