Over the course of the year we have been sharing information on our key focus and campaign areas.  Now it’s the turn of all things digital, and how the digitilisation of may services is impacting those in later life.    

The race to digitalise society threatens to leave older people behind, in particular with respect to banking and financial services. ATM closures have accelerated with the increased digitalisation of banking, with 13,679 ATMs closing between 2018 and 2022. In the South East, there are just 6.7 ATMs per 10,000 residents. Vulnerable older people, particularly those on lower incomes, are likely to be most significantly affected by any reductions in access to cash, with just over a quarter of older people not using card payments at all. It is therefore imperative that there is access to free cash withdrawals for all.

The closure of bank branches negatively impacts older people as banks are easier to access than an online platform and staff at bank branches may be more likely to identify fraud or financial abuse, especially if an older person is exhibiting cognitive impairment. Despite this, thousands of communities have already been left without a bank on their high street. Now that the Campaign for Community Banking Service has closed, there are few organisations fighting for banks in high streets and in rural communities.

To counter this, we are calling for banks and other businesses to have comprehensive vulnerable client policies and procedures in place, to ensure these customers can access the services that they require. In line with Age UK, we are calling for the Lending Standards Board and Financial Conduct Authority to be given greater powers to prevent banks closing branches.

But we can go further. Government should encourage and drive best practice within the financial services sector regarding vulnerable clients. We support the establishment of a sector wide code for consumer protection and accessibility, stipulating minimum standards that individual businesses and firms should adhere to.

As digital proliferation increases we, as part of The LLA, are calling for banks and businesses to find more innovative ways for pensioners to access safe banking, including by offering workshops, adopting more easily accessible platforms and providing local banking hubs.