Will tablets, mobile phones and the internet signal the end of the high street bank?

A campaign has begun to save the HSBC bank in Reepham. Pictured are (from left) Michele Savage, Michelle Sambrooks, Brenda Gostling, Sally Jones, Jules Allen and Tom Oakley. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant)

But the invention of tablets, iPhones and the internet have meant bills can be paid online, instant transfers have taken the place of cheques, and direct debits can be set up over the phone in minutes.

Nationally there are more than 3,500 fewer branches than in 1997, and in 2014 there was a 6pc decline in branch transactions.

In recent weeks, upcoming closures in the region's market towns have featured in news headlines. Reepham, Stalham, Long Stratton, Wroxham and Bungay are the latest to suffer losses.

Reepham and Stalham will be left with no branch.

Banks say customer numbers are falling and, in Long Stratton, Barclays said it had seen a 47pc drop in the last seven years.

But, concerned the vibrancy of high streets will suffer, town chiefs have launched campaigns to keep branches open.

Stalham is to lose both its NatWest and Barclays branches, leaving users to rely on a community bank and post office, which people say do not offer a full range of services.

Stalham Town Council chairman Duncan Edmonds felt the double closure would have a 'severe' effect on the high street.

He said Stalham served a wide area and had a number of tourists, particularly those mooring on the Broads.

'It is difficult to know what we can do locally,' he added. 'Banks are big commercial ventures. It is up to central government.'

The British Banking Association's Rob Watts, author of the Way We Bank Now report, said the number of bank branches had been falling since the late 1980s.

Transaction volume in branches was falling by between six and 10pc each year.

But he thought branches would remain for mortgages and loans.

'People still want to go to bank branches for the bigger moments in life,' he said.

He added closing a branch was a painful decision for both banks and customers, but said many post offices provided some banking services. 'Hundreds of communities across the country that have never had a branch before can now bank where there is a post office,' he said.

Community Action Norfolk chief executive Jon Clemo said for many people in rural areas, transactions online and over the phone were a better service.

But he said a challenge was improving internet access for people who currently did not have it.

For cases such as Reepham, where there will no longer be any bank branch, he said: 'Town centres should come together and work out what their unique offer is.'

Chris Channell, acting community leader for Barclays Norfolk and Suffolk, said: 'People increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices.

'We must, therefore, evolve the shape and size of our branch network in response to changing customer behaviour.'

What do you think about the closures of bank branches across the region. Write to EDP Letters, giving full details, at Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE, or email edpletters@archant.co.uk.

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