Young adults are more likely to miss their high street bank branch if it closed than older generations, with almost three-quarters (73%) of 18-24 saying they’d find it difficult to replace for some essential services. 

According to a new survey from KPMG UK, younger people were also the most likely to have visited a bank in the last month, with a quarter (25%) saying they had gone into their local branch, up from 20% last year.

Depositing cash (40%) was the top reason why 18-24 year olds last visited a bank branch, followed by 24% going in to discuss personal finances with a bank manager, the highest of all age groups, and almost a quarter (23%) using their branch to withdraw cash.

Although the younger generation was the most likely to miss face-to-face banking, overall more than two thirds of UK adults said they would miss having a local bank branch, despite only a fifth (22%) of UK individuals having visited a bank branch in the last month.

That trend isn’t surprising, given that online banking and digital payments have already become the norm for most people with access to a smartphone. According to McKinsey, roughly 90% of consumers across Europe, including in the UK, have made at least some form of digital payments in the last year, while according to a YouGov poll, a third (33%) of all UK adults use mobile banking apps on a daily basis.

With challenger banks continuing to dominate in customer satisfaction surveys, it’s little wonder that digital payments have been growing in popularity, forcing the closure of physical branches around the country.

Those closures compelled the FCA to implement new rules protecting physical access to cash, which came into force last month. Those rules sparked the creation of 15 new banking hubs across the country, including one in Scotland, which are shared spaces for personal and business customers to access basic services and cash.

Yet while more Brits are becoming familiar with what a banking hub is, KPMG reports that 77% of UK adults have never visited one, despite over half saying they’re aware of them.

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The survey shows that awareness about bank hubs varies depending on age, with 18–24-year-olds (52%) and 25–34-year-olds (54%) being the most likely age categories not to have heard of a bank hub compared with just 23% of over 65s.

Peter Rothwell, head of banking at KPMG UK, said: “The ongoing transition to more digital banking is desirable for most but bricks and mortar bank branches are still a vital way for people to manage their personal finances.

“We know that banks recognise the importance of having access to a bank branch and are seeking to manage their branch networks sensitively while managing costs. As more banking hubs open across the UK it will raise awareness and they’ll likely become more popular as they open in areas which have experienced significant bank branch closures.”