Every now and then, news pops up that another big bank is closing even more of its branches, especially ones in rural areas.
We know that it has a negative impact on personal banking customers, and news articles always emphasise this, but we think that there’s a bigger issue at hand…
If you run a shop, be it convenience, clothing, charity, antique, boutique, whatever it is – you have to deposit your cash takings at a bank. The chances are that most business owners choose a local branch because of the convenience it brings. Again, this is particularly true in rural areas.
The banks usually release the number of ‘regular users’ to justify a branch closure. Many assuming that these will be elderly people that haven’t made the full transition onto debit or credit cards, and whilst there is an element of truth, we think the ‘regular users’ referred to are also the business owners, depositing their cash.
So what options do you, an independent retailer, have for getting cash takings into their business bank account now?
Well, there are three ways it can work. The most obvious and probably the most annoying is to stick with the same bank, and travel further to their next closest branch. There are numerous downsides to this, but the biggest being it will take more time, out of an already busy day, when you could be doing something more beneficial for your business; not only that, but the longer you’re bustling around town with a bag of cash, the more vulnerable you become…
You could also switch banks. Choose the bank with the closest branch, switch to it and hey presto, problem solved!
Or here’s a thought, why not cut out the cash banking palaver altogether? Branch closures won’t seem as significant when you’re securely recycling your business cash inside your store via an ATM. Make your cash work for you… load your takings into your in-store ATM each day, the machine totals the amount that has been dispensed, and YourCash will transfer that amount into your bank account. Another bonus – it’s all free! So if you’re currently paying cash handling fees at the bank, you’d also be saving money.
A branch closure usually means that the ATMs are also removed – bad news for the public. In fact, it’s been reported that there has been a shortage of cash in areas surrounding recently closed branches. So here’s an added extra, people are likely to be drawn into your store because of the cash machine service, and research shows that ATM users will spend 65% more in-store… not bad!
Whatever your decision, we hope that branch closures have as little impact as possible on small businesses and the surrounding communities. If you’d like to find out more about having a YourCash ATM in your business, click here or give us a call on 0800 032 0707.