Banking hub offering face-to-face services to town

A new banking hub has opened, after a town was left with only a single building society for local residents.

Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance put in the request for the service to be introduced in Crewkerne, Somerset, and became its first customer.

Alice Samuel, the town's mayor, said the benefit of the hub is "you don't have to travel out of town, it's there and it's accessible".

Crewkerne is the latest town in the county to get the service, following Wellington and Frome.

Ms Samuel said: "Lots of people don't feel confident doing online banking, or even speaking on the phone to banks, so you can actually speak to someone from your bank face-to-face."

Cat Farrow, customer and strategy director from Cash Access UK, said: "The way people are banking is changing, for that reason banks have closed branches but the great thing about banking hubs is they can share facilities.

"It's a much more efficient way of doing things."

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