A MOBILE BANK has been launched to cover Moray communities where local branches of the Royal Bank of Scotland have been closed.
Bank bosses insist that the new service not only provides a viable alternative for existing customers but will be visiting areas that were previously not served by local branches.
‘The Moray Rambler’ was named after a public vote and is now visiting communities as far afield as Tomintoul and Cullen – with 19 different locations being served by regular visits, allowing customers access to standard banking services including deposits, withdrawals and account management.
Last week the Rambler called in at Burghead and Lossiemouth – communities that were once serviced by static branches that have now closed. The mobile bank is one of four new vehicles commission by RBS that amounts to a £3.5million investment, each equipped with the latest technology.
RBS spokeswoman Anne Dewar said that customers had reacted well to the mobile service: “They seem pleased that they are able to travel to more places in the community and not just places were branches have closed. This allows us to offer a range of services to locations and rural communities such as Fochabers and Lhanbryde where we have not been able to go to before.”
However, one local businessman in Lossiemouth insisted the mobile bank was no substitute for the loss of their local branch: “We switched our accounts to the Bank of Scotland who have retained a local branch in the town and, in fact, we find offer a better service.
“Any bank that claims to be community-minded cannot simply close down local branches and replace them with a service that will most certainly be hit by the vagaries of rural life – it will be interesting to see what happens when the van can’t travel to small communities this winter.”