A government minister has visited Lanarkshire to examine the progress of a new banking hub in the region.

The BankHUB in Cambuslang has been successful since opening last year, and recently welcomed a record number of customers for one day.

The initiative, based at the post office on the town's Main Street, was launched after every bank branch in Cambuslang closed a few years ago.

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The UK Government's treasury minister John Glen was in the town yesterday to assess the hub's progress in person, and to gain insight into how the operation is working.

Mr Glen's visit comes as the treasury carry out a review on banking services across the whole of the United Kingdom.

John Bachtler, chair of Cambuslang community council, which has long championed a banking hub in the area, told Lanarkshire Live: "John Glen was keen to understand the impact of the BankHUB on the local community and its value to residents and businesses.

"We highlighted the importance of having a BankHUB on the Main Street, where businesses can deposit and withdraw cash daily in a safe and trusted environment.

"Similarly, many residents say that it makes a big difference having local access to cash, especially those members of the community who prefer to manage their finances through cash rather than card transactions.

"We also emphasised that the BankHUB is an important part of the regeneration strategy for Cambuslang Main Street. It brings more people to the Main Street, and our survey results show that more people are spending money in the town centre.

John Glen
John Glen in Cambuslang at the bank hub

"When all three bank branches were closed, local businesses felt a loss of trade and footfall, which is now starting to be restored."

Jan Culverwell, one of the BankHUB management team who took part in the meeting, added: "The BankHUB has been going from strength to strength.

"Last week we had 540 customers including a record of 198 in one day. This shows how much there is a demand for a banking facility on the Main Street. Customers frequently say how much they value the services we provide."

The BankHUB involves a daily counter service for banking transactions, run by the Post Office team of Jan and Paul Culverwell, and a community banker service, with advice provided by five banks (RBS, Santander, VirginMoney, Bank of Scotland and TSB), each of which provide an advice service on a specific day each week.

The pilot phase of the BankHUB has proved to be a success and the Post Office has agreed to take on its running until April 2023 at least.

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