Eight Out of Ten Neighbourhoods Suffer Bank Branch Closures

With an increasingly digitised financial ecosystem (especially since 2020), where the use of credit or debit cards (even virtual) and digital means of payment have acquired more than significant relevance, cash management continues to be fundamental to society. Specifically, in the Valencian Community, 65% of citizens continue to resort to the use of cash for their commercial transactions.

This is indicated by the latest study by Nickel, the virtual bank of BNP Paribas, on ‘Perception and habits of Spaniards regarding the banking sector’. In this sense, the most striking conclusion of the study is that, in the case of the Valencian Community, eight out of ten citizens have perceived the closure of bank branches and ATMs in their surroundings, limiting their options to access cash.

Despite the fact that digital or card payment methods have brought changes in consumer purchasing habits, almost two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed state that they continue to use cash to carry out their usual operations, and only 35% say they use the card for everything.

“The main reason why 44.5% of Valencians continue to prefer the use of cash is to control expenses”, indicates the report. By making payments through digital means “we are less aware of how much we spend, and cash allows us to clearly visualise our budget.” Privacy is the second most appreciated advantage: a third (32.7%) of those surveyed believe that they do not have to share with third parties how they spend their money.

As a consequence of the continuous closure of branches, accessing cash is increasingly complicated for a large part of Valencians, with 79% of those surveyed having experienced this situation in their area, despite bank charges not reducing. Only 21% of Valencians confirm that the bank offices they had in their area are still open. More than one in five respondents have been harmed by this situation: 21.4% admit having to go by car or public transport to the nearest branch.

The use of cash as a method of payment in any establishment is a right guaranteed by the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users, modified in 2022 for this purpose.

However, less than 1 in 10 respondents (7.3%) consider that access to cash has improved in rural areas in Spain in the last five years. In this regard, the classic entities have resorted to various formulas in the Community: buses with ATMs that visit the town at a certain schedule, agreements with the IVF to install ATMs… while ‘multi-brand’ ATMs such as those of Euronet have proliferated, or Entities like Eurocaja Rural took advantage of the scenario to expand.

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