Offline: More than four million pensioners still rely on physical bank branches and phone lines to manage their finances
Two in five over-65s do not use online banking, putting them at high risk of ‘financial exclusion’, research reveals.
More than four million pensioners still rely on physical bank branches and phone lines to manage their finances, according to a survey by charity Age UK.
But as High Street banks axe branches across the UK, over-65s are at risk of losing access to vital services.
Money Mail revealed last month that as many as eight in ten of the remaining 5,500 bank branches countrywide could be closed by the end of next year, leaving millions of people in ‘bank branch deserts’.
A fear of being defrauded by scammers and a general lack of IT skills are the two biggest barriers to online banking.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, says: ‘We need to face up to the fact that huge numbers of older people are not banking online. It’s crucial that banks respond.’ More than 5,000 branches have closed since 2015.
