Spending a penny on financial future as public toilets could replace bank branches

Spending a penny is the future of finance – as cash hubs in public toilets are being touted to replace bank branches.

The news came as MPs on the Treasury Select Committee yesterday pressed bosses at Britain’s biggest banks over access to cash and the exclusion of individual customers.

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Anne Marie Morris, MP for Newton Abbott, demanded answers over the scale of the bank closures and said she had seen plans for a cash hub in a “public toilet”.

Banks and building societies have closed 5,908 branches since 2015 – at a rate of 54 per month – almost half the number of branches they had a decade ago.

Despite all these closures, there are currently only 35 Cash Access hubs, with the ambition to open 100.

Ms Morris told bank bosses: “The promise from all of you is that when the branches go, there will be an implementation of a cash hub with Cash Access UK.

“It’s fundamentally flawed. There are too few resources available, there is not enough money, there are places that need to be furnished.

“We have one hub in a public toilet. I hope you’re not proud of that.”

The Sun confirmed that Cash Access UK – responsible for setting up hubs – is in the process of agreeing a lease on a former public toilet, which will instead be used for banking services. It is believed to be located in the southwest.

Barclays chief executive Vim Maru defended closures as a symptom of consumers’ changing banking habits.

He told MPs: “Branch use is down 65 per cent, but app use is up 120 per cent. So we are responding to consumer demand.”

Lloyds boss Charlie Nunn said the number of customers in branches had fallen by 50 per cent, but his bank has to invest at post office counters and ATMs to assist with access to cash.

Barclays has shrunk its network the most, with 1,168 businesses closed, followed by Natwest, Lloyds and Santander, according to Which? facts.

Cash Access UK said it has opened hubs in former shops, cafes and bank branches, as well as in more unusual locations such as an old mill.

On de-banking – where banks close accounts deemed to pose a financial, legal or reputational risk – NatWest, Santander and Barclays say their program to update customer information has resulted in a wave of closures of inactive or dormant accounts.

Santander closed 37,000 accounts last year, the “vast majority” of which were due to the program, the report said.

NatWest said most closures are due to fraud or financial crime and that an “absolute minority” have concerns about a customer’s reputation.

Ken can’t afford it

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MORE than £6 billion has been wiped off the value luxury powerhouse Kering after a slump in sales at Gucci.

The fashion brand, which dressed Ryan Gosling in a habit pink suit for its Ken-inspired performance with Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash at the Oscars, has suffered a 20 percent drop in sales in the first three months of the year.

Luxury brands have so far defied the cost of living crisis as wealthy shoppers have continued to spend.

But now Gucci is suffering from tight budgets in China and the departure of designer Alessandro Michele.

Shares in parent company Kering, which also owns Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, fell as much as 14 percent after yesterday’s warning. It also beat shares of rivals Burberry and LVMH.

Brewer’s Shepherd delight

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Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, has posted record sales despite selling less beer.

The 300-year-old company said total turnover rose 4.3 per cent to £89 million in the six months to December 23.

But sales in the brewery division fell 3.8 per cent to £29.2 million, due to a 10.5 per cent drop in volumes.

Sales of cask beers such as Spitfire and Bishops Finger fell even more by 16.7 per cent, although the division returned to a profit of £200,000.

Shepherd Neame has increased prices over the past two years to cover higher costs for bottling ingredients and glasses.

The company said it had pulled back from supplying as many products to supermarkets because of lower profit margins.

Shepherd Neame’s pre-tax profits fell to £1.1 million from £5.5m last year.

Mike is in training

BILLIONAIRE Mike Ashley has taken a job as a consultant at model railway company Hornby.

Ashley’s Frasers Group has a 9 per cent stake in Hornby, which includes celebrity Jools Holland and Rod Stewart as enthusiasts.

Hornby said Mr Ashley would provide advice on operations, logistics and strategy.

He will not receive compensation for his advisory services, but will benefit if he can revive Hornby’s share price.

Mortgage hope

Mortgage interest rates are falling again after a sharp fall in inflation.

Natwest yesterday cut the five-year interest rate on 90 per cent loans from 5.54 per cent to 5.30 per cent.

Loans are priced based on what financial markets expect to happen in the coming months, rather than waiting for the Bank of England to act. The Bank is expected to maintain interest rates at 5.25 percent today.

Rightmove expert Matt Smith said there was “renewed optimism” about the direction the economy would go.

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HOLLAND & BARRETT is the latest retailer to increase wages. Staff will receive a nine per cent increase, from £11 to £12 per hour, with an increase in London from £11.95 to £13.

Tesco, Co-op and Primark, among others, must increase salaries to recruit and retain staff.

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Reduction in flight costs

TRIPPERS could pay less to fly to and from Heathrow after the Civil Aviation Authority ordered it to cut airline fees by six per cent for the next one two years.

The costs are generally passed on to passengers, with an average this year of £25.43 per traveler. That will now fall to around £23.72 in 2025, and to £23.70 in 2026.

Heathrow, which has returned to profits thanks to a boom in holiday bookings, had argued it should charge £42 per passenger.