THE Post Office in Kilwinning has now officially closed - but the founder of another business says his firm is ready to step in to help customers who have been left without over-the-counter banking facillities.

The last day of business for the Post Office counter at the McColl's store in Main Street was Saturday, January 14.

It has left many locals worried about the future of banking on the main street - with no mainstream banks or Post Office counter remaining.

A search is on to replace the counter, with the Post Office looking for new applicants to host the facility - with the closest Post Office facility to the town centre now located on Sundrum Place in Pennyburn.

In the meantime, though, another business owner says his firm - and its local staff - are able to provide a solution for people who still want to do their banking over-the-counter rather than by phone or online.

OneBanx has set up a hub at the back of the Co-op on Main Street, just a stone's throw from McColl's.

 

 

The company has been operating for three years now, and aims to build on the concept of 'shared banking' - something previously only available on mobile devices, which allows users to get access to all of their bank accounts in one place.

All of OneBanx's staff at the Kilwinning hub have been hired because, in the words of the company's chief executive Duncan Cockburn, "they know Kilwinning best".

 

 

Kilwinning is home to one of only three OneBanx kiosks in the whole country, while Duncan says the operation is the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

 

"Kilwinning has played a really important role in getting us to be where we are now," he said, "in terms of being hopefully front runners in looking to roll out solutions in other communities.”

OneBanx allows locals and business owners to withdraw and deposit their cash - and operates completely cardless, with those who are signed up getting access to its services via a QR code or their biometrics.

Duncan added “OneBanx is a lot more than just cash, it’s about shared banking - and we’ll continue to try to innovate to support what customers want.”

Explaining how business owners in the area in particular can benefit, he explained: “You sign up to OneBanx, you turn up, you can put, like, two grand into your business account every day, and you get instant credit.

“Instant credit is the other important thing. Quite often, when you do bank deposits, it can take two to three days to actually get into your bank account. This will take two to three seconds.”

And what about individual customers? 

“Being able to go speak to someone, it makes a big difference," he said.

"We have lots of people turning up to the kiosks – the questions that we get aren’t even related to banking.

“Quite a lot of people like having a 'touch point' in their community where you can speak to someone about their money and finances. It’s reassuring.

“As we continue to work closer with the banks, we’ll be able to provide more to customers.

"We hope to be able to help them as much as possible, and if we can’t we will be able to pass them onto someone who can help.”

Duncan also acknowledged that many may have reservations over the digital aspects of the OneBanx.

“We provide a hybrid solution so people without online banking can still use OneBanx," he said, "but we do try to promote people to go digital, because quite frankly, there are benefits to it.

“For example, we’ve had a 94-year-old man turn up and sign up to online banking for the first time to use OneBanx. He did it because he didn’t want to have to travel to the next town to do his banking.”

While the Post Office facility in Pennyburn isn't too far away, at least for some residents, Duncan says OneBanx still offers a little bit extra for its users.

"It’s a nice banking environment," he said.

"You go into it and it feels like a bank, whereas if you go into a Post Office, you can’t sit down and speak to someone.

“In a OneBanx kiosk you can sit down and take your time – we don’t have queues either because it’s dedicated to banking.

“With Post Offices too, opening hours are limited. With OneBanx, it’s not staffed all the time, but you can still access the OneBanx service as long as the Co-op is open.

“It’s a case of go in, deposit your money, and you’re out in a minute.”

OneBanx regularly surveys the people and individuals who use the service to ensure it's meeting its customers' needs - and the company's growth will soon include the launch of a mobile app.

Duncan also hopes those who sign up to OneBanx in its infancy will get the chance to be in at the start of something which could soon be much bigger.

“It’s a dedicated financial services environment which is continuing to become better and better," he said.

“Hopefully OneBanx will be a big name across the whole country, but Kilwinning is where it started.

“Kilwinning is very much pioneering a substantial change in retail banking, and hopefully that is something people can get behind and get excited about.”