A NEW building society, set to open up in a rather unlikely location, will allow access to customer accounts whichever bank it is provided by.

In a UK-first, Newcastle Building Society has revealed plans for a ground-breaking pilot to help meet everyday banking needs and restore access to cash in Knaresborough Library.

The partnership with North Yorkshire County Council, will see the north east’s largest building society install a multi-bank transaction terminal in the new branch, allowing customers to access their bank account whichever bank it is provided by.

The pilot initiative will allow personal and business customers of all major banks to withdraw cash, deposit coins and notes, move funds and pay bills at the Society’s new Knaresborough branch, when it opens in the next few months. A similar pilot will run at the Society’s Gosforth High Street branch in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The OneBanks Hub terminals provide access to all banks on the Open Banking network, meaning customers of all the major UK banks will be able to use the service.

Newcastle Building Society chief executive officer, Andrew Haigh said: “We champion the high street, and believe in its vital role in supporting vibrant local economies. Decisions made by banks have been at the expense of many vulnerable people who are reliant on cash and, as a result, risk being disenfranchised from the financial system. We are proud to be the first to bring this unique proposition into mainstream financial services. “It will provide customers with a supported digital banking facility, convenient access to cash withdrawal and deposits for people whose bank branch is no longer either local, or convenient.

“We have a growing business and an ongoing multi million-pound investment and innovation programme in upgrading and expanding our branch network to offer superb, modern environments for our growing customer base across North Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East.

“This innovative pilot, a one stop solution if your local bank has closed, is potentially transformational for our region, extending access to face-to-face services whilst increasing digital adoption and inclusion. The unique combination of our innovative approach to community branches and OneBanks’ technology proves that with the right commitment, there can be a bright new future for financial services on our high streets.”

The cash facility will be a lifeline for many small businesses, and people who rely on regular deposits and withdrawals to manage their day-to-day budgets. In many instances, due to closures, the convenience of doing this locally has been taken away.

Customers needing assistance to use the terminal, branded OneBanks Hub, will be supported by the Society’s trained branch colleagues, who will be on hand to help users connect to their bank to complete transactions privately.

The terminal, which will be enabled with Glory cash handling technology and OneBanks Hub software platform will sit alongside the Society’s face to face branch offering which includes savings, mortgages and financial advice on pensions, investments, and protection via its Newcastle Financial Advisers subsidiary. It is expected that the first OneBanks Hub terminals within Newcastle Building Society branches will be fully operative later this year.

Mark McCallum, country head UK and Ireland at Glory said: “As a cornerstone investor in OneBanks Hub, we are delighted that Newcastle Building Society is the first financial institution to combine the convenience of Glory’s cash automation solutions with the power of the OneBanks software to address the challenge of on-going access to cash for communities affected by branch closures. The new economics of branch banking, driven by changes in consumer behaviour, are presenting challenges to the traditional provision of in-person banking services which can be solved for consumers by the shared infrastructure approach being adopted by Newcastle Building Society”

Duncan Cockburn, chief executive of OneBanks Hub, said: “We developed OneBanks Hub to support communities without access to everyday banking, and this partnership with Newcastle Building Society and Glory shows how this can be delivered in a flexible, user-friendly way. This initiative will help individuals and small businesses continue to do their critical financial transactions without having to travel miles to their nearest bank branch. It is a model that can be replicated in many more locations.”