Girvan has been recommended additional banking services, following the confirmation of several bank branch closures across Scotland.

In 2021, the banking industry agreed that following the closure of any bank branch, LINK will identify whether a community requires further cash services.

Banking hubs are a shared banking space, similar to a traditional bank branch, but available to customers of any of the main high street banks.

The hub will consist of a counter service operated by Post Office employees, where customers and businesses can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions.

In addition, there will be private spaces where customers can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy.

The banks will be working on a rotating basis, so there will be staff from different banks available on different days.

In addition to banking hubs, other new innovations such as deposit services, and cash at the till, which allows retailers to provide free access to cash to consumers, are beginning to appear across the UK.

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There is currently a banking hub already up and running in South Ayrshire in Troon.

Over the next few weeks, it will begin to engage with the local community in Girvan and start looking for potential sites.

The new banking hubs will now be delivered by a bank-owned infrastructure company called Cash Access UK.

The hubs will likely open in 2024.

Chris Ashton, head of banking services at LINK, said: “Access to cash and face to face banking services remain important for communities across the UK.

"We know many people are comfortable using contactless and digital payments, but over five million people still rely on cash every day.

"We’re pleased to make these recommendations and to support local communities.

“If any town or village thinks it has an access to cash issue, we’d recommend people firstly check our cash locator tool and if they believe there’s a problem, they can contact us directly to investigate.”