AIBU to think a high street bank should be open on a Saturday?

[HelplessProcrastinator]

So usual excuse bank only open Monday to Friday 10.00 to 2.00 due to ‘global pandemic’. This is main HSBC in a city centre. Apparently this is a local branch decision despite having amongst the lowest COVID rates in the country through the whole pandemic. I have $ cheques to pay in. My only options are to wait until annual leave or post them which I don’t feel comfortable doing.

AIBU to be fed up with this situation and shoddy customer service hiding behind ‘global pandemic’ generally?

@VeganVeal

If you message HSBC maybe they could open the branch on a Saturday just for you?

I'd imagine there would be hundreds of people delighted if banks decided to be sensible and open for a few hours on a weekend or even stay open later for one evening a week. It's hardly an unreasonable expectation to be able to access banking facilities.

Although it seems like a stealthy way of gearing to close a branch (oh but no one used it) it is what it is and if you're being expected to bank work cheques, it's a work matter and should be on works time.

That's the flip side of WFH.

Out of interest, what limits do other banks put on app cheque deposits? £500 for Lloyds.

Out of interest, what limits do other banks put on app cheque deposits? £500 for Lloyds.

It was £500 per cheque or £750 a day total for HSBC - only hit it a few times - couple of cheques - but very inconvenient.

A lot of banks near me have been reducing hours way before covid. A friend works in a bank and her hours were almost halved a couple of years ago. It's because they want to push everyone to online banking- but it's impossible to do everything online!

I saw a Metro drive-thru bank the other day. Didn't know they were a thing but that would be fab. And they're open 7 days a week

@mainsfed

I saw a Metro drive-thru bank the other day. Didn't know they were a thing but that would be fab. And they're open 7 days a week

That sounds awesome. I'd love a drive though bank.

@VeganVeal

If you message HSBC maybe they could open the branch on a Saturday just for you?

I presume this is tongue in cheek and not serious?

It's very annoying and extremely stupid to thing that those hours work. I wanted to open a joint account too, but could only do it if we went together Mon - Fri during the middle of the day, because obviously covid infects people less in those hours 🤔

Where I live I had 3 bank branches when I moved here in 2015. 3 years later all 3 were closed and we were a massive town with no banks, just a post office.

They have now just opened a banking hub which has specific days for certain banks if you want to open accounts etc. However you can pay in at anytime.

Still not very helpful though without having to get a train/bus 30 mins away to the town.

Mm.
I worked for a large insurer. They used to have a thing about how much it cost to send a cheque instead of bank transfer.
Until someone pointed out that something like 7% of cheques were never cashed and never chased!

I saw a Metro drive-thru bank the other day. Didn't know they were a thing but that would be fab. And they're open 7 days a week.

This a thing in North America. You rarely went into the bank unless you needed to talk to someone about your account or to open one. I remember as a small child, getting excited to go through the drive-thru because you could watch the canister you put the money in go up the pipe connecting the machine outside to the inside of the bank and see it end up with the bank teller through their window inside and it would make a swooshing sound as if it was a rocket taking off.

MissConductUS the Judge Judy's currently on freeview are from about 2015/16 or so. So not that old.
I love Judy.

@MissConductUS

Having watched many episodes of Judge Judy they seem about 30 years behind with banks in America.

Judy Judy started filming in 1996.

Aren't they a bit behind with chip & pin/contactless payments too?

Nope. All credit and debit cards here have been chipped for years. Contactless cards started rolling out 2-3 years ago. I normally using Apple Pay with my Apple watch.

The comment was about the banks in the US being about 30 years behind, nothing to do with when judge Judy started filming. Even in most recent episodes of judge Judy they still talk about getting their pay check cashed as they have no bank account.

@phoenixrosehere

I saw a Metro drive-thru bank the other day. Didn't know they were a thing but that would be fab. And they're open 7 days a week.

This a thing in North America. You rarely went into the bank unless you needed to talk to someone about your account or to open one. I remember as a small child, getting excited to go through the drive-thru because you could watch the canister you put the money in go up the pipe connecting the machine outside to the inside of the bank and see it end up with the bank teller through their window inside and it would make a swooshing sound as if it was a rocket taking off.

Ah I would have loved that!

It reminds me of those shutes that people would use to send rolled up documents to other departments! Not sure if they’re still being used!

@GrandTheftWalrus

Where I live I had 3 bank branches when I moved here in 2015. 3 years later all 3 were closed and we were a massive town with no banks, just a post office.

They have now just opened a banking hub which has specific days for certain banks if you want to open accounts etc. However you can pay in at anytime.

Still not very helpful though without having to get a train/bus 30 mins away to the town.

Are you Cambuslang or Rochford?

YABU
Maybe Saturday morning for a couple of hours, but even pre pandemic many people didn't have a decent work/life balance.
Now most people have Bank holidays off as well as their own holidays.

Even in most recent episodes of judge Judy they still talk about getting their pay check cashed as they have no bank account.

This may be a bit of a shock, but people who appear on Judge Judy are not a scientific sample of the American population. 94.6% of American households have a bank account.

How America Banks: Household Use of Banking and Financial Services

*Ah I would have loved that!

It reminds me of those shutes that people would use to send rolled up documents to other departments! Not sure if they’re still being used!*

Pneumatic Tubes. I’m unsure if they still use them now too, think they are still used in some places in the world. 🙂

I had the same last week with HSBC - a cheque from my mum (who does NOT do the internet) that was over the limit for paying in on the app. I had to take an extra long lunch hour to drive to the nearest town to pay it in, and even more annoyingly its a self service branch, so you don't even need a person to be there to pay it in, but the self service machines are inside the bloody branch so when they lock the doors mid afternoon you can't use them!!

Mytiredeyeshaveseenenough It’s a personal cheque so nothing to do with work. I get one every month.

I get 30 minutes lunch break but like the majority of people I don’t work anywhere near a branch of my bank
Even if you got an hour it may mot be enough. For me it would be a 29 min drive into town. So there and back is 49 mins Find somewhere to park up, pay the pay and display, walk to bank , queue up, do the transaction and return.
Last time dh went it took him just iver 25 minutes from queuing outside to getting to the teller.
Its not a simple pop out to go there and back. And when would you eat your lunch!

I've had this issue with a tax refund from HMRC, over the limit and they'd given me a sex change as well so needed to go into branch to sort it.

@YellowScallion

I've had this issue with a tax refund from HMRC, over the limit and they'd given me a sex change as well so needed to go into branch to sort it.

Banks now do sex changes, too? Clever people, those bankers.