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Newcastle Building Society is leading a ground-breaking pilot to bring banking services back into bankless communities.
In the wake of a series of high street branch closures, Newcastle Building Society has teamed up with global leaders in cash automation, GLORY, and shared banking fintech, OneBanks Hub, to allow personal and business customers of all major banks to withdraw cash and deposit notes and coins through our network of high street branches. An initial pilot will be run in two locations where bank closures have seriously affected local community access to cash.
We plan to install multi-bank transaction terminals alongside our existing services, allowing customers to access their account whichever bank it is provided by. The terminals provide access to all banks on the Open Banking network, meaning customers of all the major UK banks will be able to use the service.
The cash facility will be a lifeline for many small businesses, and people who rely on regular deposits and withdrawals to manage their day-to-day budgets. In many instances, due to closures, the convenience of doing this locally has been taken away.
The pilot will take place at our Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Knaresborough, North Yorkshire branches.
Customers needing assistance to use the terminal, branded OneBanks Hub, will be supported by our trained branch colleagues, who will be on hand to help users connect to their bank to complete transactions privately.
Chief executive officer, Andrew Haigh commented: “We champion the high street, and believe in its vital role in supporting vibrant local economies. Decisions made by banks have been at the expense of many vulnerable people who are reliant on cash and, as a result, risk being disenfranchised from the financial system. We are proud to be the first to bring this unique proposition into mainstream financial services.
“It will provide customers with convenient access to cash withdrawal and deposits for people whose bank branch is no longer either local, or convenient.