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The closure of Rhymney’s mobile banking service in May of this year will leave residents in a “financial desert”, an MP has said. 

Labour MP Gerald Jones, who represents Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, has criticised the closure of Lloyds Bank’s mobile ‘bank bus’ service which provides customers with cash and cheque services along with account enquiries. 

It has been operating in the town since the high street branch closed in 2019.

Rhymney, however, will not be the only place affected – Lloyds Bank has announced plans to end all of its mobile branch services by May 2024. 

The service’s last visit to Rhymney will be on May 13.

In a letter sent to Gerald Jones MP and Dawn Bowden MS posted online, Lloyds wrote that the decision comes after customers using the mobile branches fell by “90% over the last five years”.

It continued: “Only 13 customers regularly used the Rhymney service in the six months to July 2023”, adding that in the constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, they have 33,430 customers – with “more and more” moving to online banking. 

Rhymney was on the bank’s Heads of the Valley route, where, according to Lloyds’ research, around 42% of users were aged 75 and older. 

What will happen now?

A Lloyds Bank spokesperson said: “As many customers now choose to bank online or through their mobile app, visits to our mobile bank branch have fallen significantly over recent years. 

“The local post office offers everyday banking, with cash also available at close-by free-to-use ATMs, alongside other ways to bank such as online, phone and mobile banking services.”

According to Lloyds, mobile bank branch staff will be on hand to offer support and guidance before the service ends. 

Thereafter, a community banker will visit the area to provide face-to-face support – following a consultation on where and when this will be most suitable. 

“Further blow to the High Street” – politicians respond

In a statement to Caerphilly Observer, Gerald Jones MP said: “This is a deeply disappointing reply from Lloyds Bank.

“Losing the branch from Rhymney was a blow for the community. But the bank’s decision to withdraw their mobile branch leaves residents in a financial desert.

“Alongside our MS Dawn Bowden, I’m exploring what further action could be taken.”

Labour MS Dawn Bowden, who also represents Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, said she was “disappointed” and added: “When we lost the Lloyds branch in Rhymney a few years ago, it was the last banking facility in the area. 

“We were assured then that the mobile replacement was a viable alternative that would continue to provide a local service.

“This move is a further blow to the high street and the community of Rhymney and I will be working closely with Gerald Jones MP and local councillor Carl Cuss to explore what options may now be available to re-establish a local banking service for the area”

Labour councillor Carl Cuss, who represents the Twyn Carno ward, echoed the disappointment of Mr Jones and Ms Bowden.

Cllr Cuss added: “They [Lloyds] have said in a recent letter to the MP and MS that they are looking to provide a new community banker based in the local library or community centre, what that looks like we don’t know yet and we are trying to set up a meeting with them to explore this further. 

“But looking at what Barclays have done in other communities, they don’t accept checks or cash, just offer advice. To me that is a reduction in services provided to local residents.

“I would support them being based in a local venue if they would provide the same type of service. We will have to see what they are proposing for the area.”