Kirkcaldy bank closure: final days before doors close at branch once hailed as ‘bank of future’
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The Bank of Scotland has announced it will shut its base at Carberry Road, Mitchelston, on January 21, 2025. It is one of several branches set to close across Fife next year - the bank is pulling out of Cowdenbeath, leaving the town without a single bank, while the doors are also shutting at its branch at Bothwell Street in Dunfermline. The bank’s branch in High Street, Kirkcaldy, which has just been refurbished, is not affected by the announcement.
All staff at Carberry Road will be offered roles at another branch or in another part of the bank’s business.
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Hide AdIn a statement, the bank said it assessed how customers were managing their money and using the branch before any decision was made.


“As many customers now choose to bank through their app or online, visits to our Kirkcaldy Mitchelston branch have fallen over recent years. When the branch closes later this month, customers can continue to manage their money online, by calling us, in person at Kirkcaldy High Street branch, or the local Post Office on Overton Road,” it said.
The bank said 81% of personal customers already use other ways of banking, such as app, internet or phone banking, as well as other branches.
It said mobile banking gives people 24/7/365 access and the power to view, understand and manage their money in one simple place. Customers can see all their money in one place, pay in cheques, apply for finance, check their credit score, message our customer support teams and much more.
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Hide AdThe nearby Post Office in Overton Road, offers personal and business customers everyday banking services, access to cash, paying in of cheques, and more - and it said the nearest free-to-use ATM is short walk away, and there are 12 free-to-use ATMs within a mile of the closing branch.


Customers can also use any Bank of Scotland branch, such as Kirkcaldy High Street for their banking, alongside other options such as the Post Office, online, mobile and telephone banking.
When the branch opened in 1992 it broke new ground and was considered the model for others to follow. It took the Bank of Scotland out of town – ironic considering most banks have now left town - and Mitchelston was the first custom-designed branch of its kind in Scotland. The building had two floors, but the one which mattered to folk was the new banking hall on the ground floor which, according to an advertising feature in the Fife Free Press, had “spaciousness, simplicity and a common sense layout”.
This, said the Press, is banking as you have never seen before – “the result of careful study and research by the bank into what customers want and expect. A modern branch which sets new standards of service and professionalism in relaxed and comfortable surroundings”.
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Hide AdThe bank’s links with Kirkcaldy dated back 200 years – it was previously the British Linen Bank – and Mitchelston came about after it was realised a major refurbishment of the High Street branch still wouldn’t have met the needs of the business.
Moving out of town, next to the relatively new Asda, meant the bank could introduce Kirkcaldy to the world of “lobby banking” along with the advent of cash dispensers, and access to them in a foyer area even when the bank was closed.
They were followed by “a sophisticated touch screen terminal for info on mortgages and other services”, while the bank also boasted a “browsing area” where customers could have a coffee, read newspapers and look at a small exhibition of banking memorabilia.
One of the key developments was a “central pod” where customer service officers (CSOs) and other specialists in deposits, travel, safekeeping, insurance and investments were based.
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Hide Ad“They receive no incoming phone calls, which means no interruptions whilst they are talking to you,” said the Press.
The bank’s Cowdenbeath branch is slated to shut in June 2025.Link, the UK’s cash access and ATM network, has announced it is looking for a site to create a new banking hub for the town as part of a wider commitment to protect access to cash.
Banking hubs are a shared banking space, similar to a traditional bank branch, but available to everyone.
It will consist of a counter service operated by Post Office employees, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions.
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Hide AdIn addition, there will be private spaces where customers can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy. The banks will work on a rotating basis, so there will be staff from different banks available on different days. To date, LINK has recommended 146 banking hubs, including 21 in Scotland.
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