Banking hub: Kilkeel welcomes return of 'face-to-face' service

It's been a year since the last bank closed in Kilkeel, County Down - a situation that's mirrored across many towns and villages hit by branch closures.

But face-to-face banking returned this week, thanks to the arrival of Northern Ireland's first banking hub.

The hub, operated by not-for-profit firm Cash Access UK, offers a Post Office counter, allowing customers of all major banks to carry out regular cash transactions.

And while the Kilkeel hub is the first, it won't be the last to land in Northern Ireland - four more are planned next year for Comber, Warrenpoint, Portrush and Newcastle.

For the Kilkeel community, the new banking model has received an early thumbs up.

"All the banks have shut so it's good to bring them back to the people, even in a different format," local businessman Andrew Imrie told BBC News NI.

Cash Access UK was established by nine major high street banks to protect access to cash services.

In Kilkeel, apart from the Post Office counter, the hub will also offer a community banker service, where customers can talk to their own bank about more complicated issues in a dedicated meeting room.

Five different banks will work on rotation, with a different bank available each day.

Heather Doran, who also runs the Post Office in Kilkeel, will head up the hub along with her daughter Eamy Sloan.

"It's a shared space between the Post Office and banks," Ms Doran explained.

"You can come in on any day to lodge or withdraw money or to do bill payments and balance enquiries.

"Then you want to speak to one of the bankers you come in on that particular day. There's no booking process, you can just come in."

Community bankers will work on rotation at the hub, with a different bank available on each day of the week from 09:00 to 17:00 GMT

Alan Knox, president of the Kilkeel Chamber of Commerce, said the hub would make a real difference, particularly since there were no remaining banks in nearby Newcastle or Warrenpoint.

This means people have to travel about 40 minutes to access services in Newry, Downpatrick or Castlewellan.

"Within the past number of years we've had two bank closures in Kilkeel," the owner of local business James Knox and Sons said.

"The Post Office has filled the gap for day-to-day banking but it's when it comes to more complex problems or from a business point of view, if you need to talk to a finance manager, you've lost that relationship between a banker and their customer.

"With the Banking Hub, it's brought that back. You can have a face-to-face meeting with someone. Everyone's trying to cost save, this is a great way for banks to come back."

Mr Imrie agreed that having a "dedicated facility" for banking, plus the community banker service for "face-to-face" conversations, was welcome.

Another Kilkeel local, John Morrison, who owns an agricultural mechanic business, emphasised the need for the hub.

With there being no banks in the town, Mr Morrison said he had to travel to Newry - a journey "which is not handy".

The bank closures have also posed challenges for older generations, who often prefer in-person banking to online.

"A lot of older people are having to jump on the bus [to get to Newry] - they can't drive," Ms Doran said.

Kilkeel resident Elaine Chambers agreed that the closure of the banks was "difficult, especially for older people".

"My mum struggles with it because there's no bank for her to go into and she doesn't do online banking, she's always gone in to the bank," she said.

Ms Doran emphasised that her team "would know if a customer doesn't come in at their normal time, there might be something wrong", but this was impossible over the phone or online.

Mr Knox added: "If you've built up a rapport with someone, you can gauge if they're not feeling well that day.

"It's bringing back that personal relationship that a bank manager or Post Office have with their customers. We're a tight-knit community."

Cash Access UK chief executive Gareth Oakley said the organisation is "delighted" to open the Kilkeel hub, which will "support local community, businesses and tourists with cash and vital banking services".

He added that Cash Access UK is beginning to look at potential sites for the four new hubs.