RBS has been accused of “gaming the numbers” in its justification for the closure of its Broughty Ferry branch.
When the bank announced the closure of the Brook Street branch it claimed there were just six personal customers using the bank on a regular basis.
Such a low number of regular customers seemed impossible to local councillor Pete Shears who has been one of the people spearheading a petition against the closure.
He has now had confirmation of the calculation RBS uses to define a “regular” customer, which he describes as “ridiculous”.
What is an RBS regular customer?
As part of the closure process, RBS analysed data between June and December last year.
It classes a regular personal customer as someone who visits at least once a week for 22 weeks in the 26-week period.
Mr Shears said: “Any business – even a local corner shop or a supermarket – would struggle to have many customers that meet this high level of visits.
“I also note this covers the festive period which would have had fewer opening hours.
“Quite frankly the criteria is ridiculous and meaningless. RBS is gaming the numbers.
“To say the bank only has six regular customers is a joke. It’s a busy branch, as demonstrated by the hundreds of customers who have signed our petition to keep it open.”
Meanwhile, RBS said the branch was used by 165 business customers on a regular basis in 2022.
This is classed as people who visited the branch at least 12 times throughout last year.
RBS Broughty Ferry petition
Mr Shears said more than 1,100 people have now signed a petition to keep the Broughty Ferry branch open since it was started last week.
The online petition has more than 900 signatures, while another 200 have been collected on paper.
He said this shows the strength of feeling in the community that the branch should stay open.
If the RBS closure goes ahead as planned on November 2, it will be the second bank lost in Broughty Ferry in just two years, following Virgin Money shutting its Gray Street branch.
The Broughty Ferry councillor adds: “To be honest I’ve been surprised at just how many people have signed the petition.
“Initially I thought we might get up to 1,000 signing but it’s already up to 1,100.
“Some businesses like the Sweetpea Café are also collecting signatures for the petition so that total will rise much higher.
“Standing outside the bank to collect signatures underlines just how many people use the bank. There’s a steady flow of customers.
“The number of people putting their names to the petition underlines that this branch is vital to the community and should not be closing.”
RBS responds
RBS was asked to confirm its definition and why it feels this is a meaningful statistic.
It highlighted the rise of online banking, stating that between January 2019 and January 2023, counter transactions for personal customers decreased by 57%.
An RBS spokesperson said: “As with many industries, most of our customers are shifting to mobile and online banking, because it’s faster and easier for people to manage their financial lives.
“We understand and recognise that digital solutions aren’t right for everyone or every situation.
“When we close branches we have to make sure that no one is left behind.”
