Over-65s risk financial exclusion because they don’t use online banking
Two out of five over-65s risk financial exclusion because they do not use internet banking
Offline: More than four million retirees still rely on brick-and-mortar bank branches and phone lines to manage their finances
Two out of five people over the age of 65 do not use internet banking, which puts them at high risk of ‘financial exclusion’, according to research.
More than four million retirees still rely on brick-and-mortar bank branches and telephone lines to manage their finances, according to a survey by the charity Age UK.
But as High Street banks cut branches across the UK, those over 65 risk losing access to vital services.
Money Mail revealed last month that as many as eight in ten of the country’s remaining 5,500 bank branches could close by the end of next year, leaving millions of people in “bank branch deserts.”
Fear of being scammed by scammers and a general lack of IT skills are the two biggest barriers to online banking.
Caroline Abrahams, from Age UK, says: ‘We have to face the fact that large numbers of older people do not bank online. It is crucial that banks respond.’ More than 5,000 branches have closed since 2015.
l.purkess@dailymail.co.uk