- 100,000 account holders are being told that they can no longer use their bankbooks
- They are told to put their savings online or use a debit card
Virgin Money has become the latest bank to ax popular savings accounts as banks continue to close branches.
The owner of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank brands is to tell around 100,000 account holders that they can no longer use their passbooks to make personal payments or withdraw cash.
They will be encouraged to put their savings online or use an ATM instead.
A sign of the times: Virgin Money to tell around 100,000 account holders that they can no longer use their passbook to pay or withdraw personal money
It follows a similar move by Lloyds, Britain’s biggest lender, which The Mail on Sunday recently revealed was withdrawing more than 3 million passbooks.
Lloyds’ decision raised concerns that older and more vulnerable customers who do not use or rely on online banking, and rely on a bank branch, would struggle to access their money.
Bankbooks are particularly popular with the elderly, who are assured that the book gives them hard evidence of how much they have in their account.
Lloyds’ move also revived fears that fewer customers were likely to visit branches, giving banks an excuse to close more branches.
According to consumer campaign group Which? banks and building societies have closed 5,818 branches since 2015, approximately 54 per month.
Virgin Money, which has 2 million savings accounts, recently cut a further 39 branches, while Lloyds Banking Group – which also owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland – has earmarked a further 123 branches for closure this year.
The use of passbooks has declined as customers go online. Santander no longer accepts them and Barclays threw them away when it bought Woolwich. Nationwide no longer offers passbooks to new customers.
A Virgin Money spokesperson confirmed it was ‘in the process of removing passbooks’.
“As there are now more secure and convenient ways for customers to manage their money, including offline and in-store options, passbooks have not been available to open for a number of years,” the spokesperson added.