Yahoo Finance A third of over 80s avoid cash points as they feel pressure from impatient queuers
Over a third of over 80s actively avoid using cash points as many find pressure from impatient queuers makes them too nervous, a damning House of Lords report has revealed.
According to the report, millions of elderly people in the UK are facing financial exclusion, as the closure of hundreds of local bank branches is leaving them with no easy way to access their own money.
The House of Lords' financial exclusion committee was warned by the Finance Foundation that physical and cognitive changes could deter older groups from using ATM technology.
It conducted a survey which showed that one-third of people aged over 80 had either never used a cash machine or preferred to avoid them where possible.
Of these four in 10 cited physical issues limiting their capacity to use an ATM, perhaps due to sight problems or stiff fingers.
A similar proportion were concerned about doing something wrong or being expected to be too quick, it said.
The report warned: "the growing number of bank closures does, therefore, have the potential to have a particularly exclusionary effect upon older age groups."
It comes as more than 150 Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest branches are to close after a "dramatic shift" in customer banking, the company announced on Thursday.
In a rapid decline of physical bank branches in the UK as banks attempt to save money, some 53pc of UK bank branches closed between 1989 and 2016.
It means that for the first time there are now fewer bank branches than Post Offices, of which there are 11,600 across the UK.
It added that over recent years the Post Office and banks have been working to establish a single common and standardised set of banking services which are available at post offices.
Although largely unknown to customers, has resulted in 99pc of current account customers in the UK being able to access some banking services over a post office counter.
The report said: "The majority of customers, however, are simply unaware that these services exist. The current waste of this untapped potential is not acceptable, and needs to be addressed through a concerted joint effort from Government, the banks and the Post Office."
