Scottish fintech boss slams banks for failure to upgrade obsolete ATMs

Jim Tomaney

Mr Tomaney, said many of the services offered by the rapidly dwindling number of branches could be provided by cutting-edge ATM’s – if the money was to be invested in their development.

More than a third of Scottish bank branches have closed over the past eight years – a drop from 1,625 branches to 1,015 locations between 2010 and 2018- and just yesterday TSB said it was now reducing opening across its branch networkl.

Mr Tomaney said: “The decision to close bank branches unjustly penalises significant portions of Scottish society and, in particular, people and businesses in remoter areas of the country.

“What’s frustrating is that many of the services that bank branches offer, like loans for consumers or cash-deposits for businesses, could be replicated using cloud technology to create Smart ATMs or a ‘bank-in-a-box’.

“Unfortunately, most banks aren’t yet prepared to invest in updated technology and infrastructure to bring about that change.”

Renovite set up its European headquarters in Dunfermline a year ago but has already grown its Scottish team to 13 staff, with plans to increase its number of employees to 20 in the first half of this year.

“The vast majority of today’s banks still rely on infrastructure designed back in the 1980s and 1990s which are incredibly hard to add innovative new services to, which is why financial exclusion is becoming more and more of a problem”, Mr Tomaney added.