More than 13m customers still rely on bank branches
It showed that despite a shift to digital banking, many 'remain reliant on bank branches for essential services', according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which revealed the number in its latest Financial Lives report.
The figure, covering the year to May 2024, represented 26 per cent of all account holders.
That was down sharply from 63 per cent since 2017 'but also highlights the continued importance of in-branch banking for many adults'.
Regular use of branches has halved since 2017 but a substantial 9.7m still visited a specific site at least once a month, the report found.
And there were 3.3m, or 7 per cent of account holders, who neither banked online nor used an app – customers who would effectively be left stranded by branch closures. That proportion rose among older customer, to 17 per cent among those 65 and over and 46 per cent for those aged 85 and over.
Those in low-income households, or suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis or HIV infection also showed lower rates of adoption of digital banking.
Among reasons given was that people preferred to speak with someone in person or feared digital banking was not secure.
The survey also found 21 per cent of account holders had experienced the closure of a branch they had been using regularly.
Separate figures by consumer group Which? showed that more than 6,000 branches have shut in the past decade as customers shift towards digital banking.
But campaigners and MPs fear the elderly and the vulnerable are being left behind.
Jenny Ross, money editor at Which? said: 'As the UK's bank branch network continues to be cut to the bone, more people are finding it difficult to access banking services. The needs of these people must not be ignored.'
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: 'The disappearance of face-to-face banking risks cutting a significant minority of the older population out of an essential service, making it difficult if not impossible for them to maintain their independence.'
Former pensions minister Ros Altmann said: 'Millions of British citizens cannot and do not use online or mobile banking and indeed don't even have a smartphone. These digitally excluded people are often disabled or elderly and are being increasingly locked out of British life. We must not let this happen.'
Nationwide, which has committed to keeping all of its branches open until 2028, said it had seen a 4 per cent rise in the numbers visiting at least once over the past year. That appeared to be partly driven by customers whose branches had been shut by other lenders switching to the building society.
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