The Royal Bank of Scotland has repeated its refusal to offer a free-to-use cash machine in Arrochar, despite appeals by the community and local MSP.
RBS closed its branch in the village five years ago and last month constituency MSP Jackie Baillie met with representatives from the company, including managing director of personal banking, Simon Watson, to discuss the need for free access to cash for residents and visitors.
The meeting followed Mr Watson’s appearance in front of the Scottish Parliament’s economy committee, which investigated the impact of bank branch closures on communities across Scotland.
During the committee exchange the MSP raised the case of Arrochar and Mr Watson agreed to visit the village to discuss the issues.
But the company has not committed to installing an ATM machine in the village, instead saying it no longer operates stand-alone ATMs as part of its business.
Ms Baillie has also raised the issue with LINK, which is responsible for ensuring a good geographical spread of ATM machines across Scotland.
She said: “I am, of course, disappointed that RBS will not install a free ATM machine in Arrochar. The village has been left with no access to free cash following the closure of the bank’s branch.
“RBS have closed a staggering number of branches across Scotland in recent years.
“Whilst RBS do provide a mobile bank branch to the village once a week for 40 minutes, this simply does not replace a bank branch, or provide visitors and residents with access to free cash when they need it.
“The lack of access to free cash affects the local economy in Arrochar with visitors unable to spend money in the village when they visit. I hope that LINK can provide a suitable solution in the near future.”
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