South Yorkshire Times, July 12th, 1969.
The banks of Britain are in the process of learning that there are two sides to every coin.
For some very good reasons our banks now close on Saturdays, but provide an extra service during the week, including one evening session to 6 p.m or 6.30. For equally good reasons public reaction varies between enthusiasm an antagonism, according to a “South Yorkshire Times” survey in the Mexborough and Dearne areas.
One customer at a Wath bank is reported to have closed a deposit account there “as a protest”. Bank officials tried to persuade her that their staff had as much right as anyone else to a five day week, with Saturdays off.
A Mexborough market-stallholder didn’t sympathise. He declared, ” Banking hours are a wash-out. They should be open normal shop hours, like anyone else, and if they’re going to stop open late, six o’clock is no good. They should make it much later. Why can’t bank staff work a rota system to ensure their five day week.”
A trainee teacher, interviewed in a spot check on a Mexborough town centre bank on Monday, found the hours very inconvenient. She had relied on Saturday, she added, “Today I’ve been lucky to get away from college early. Most of the time i cannot. It’s very bad.”
Some business people reported problems over any Saturday morning shortage of small change. Most agreed they could however, with a little forethought, and banking of takings could be made quite conveniently through night safe facilities.
Manager of one of Goldthorpe’s biggest stores, Mr. John Stockley, confirmed this. Many traders had avoided Saturday morning in any case, as banks tended to be too crowded then. But he added, “I can see as an ordinary man in the street, evening opening hours are not long enough. My bank will certainly be closed by the time i get home to South Elmsall.”
Good Response.
But public comment is by no means wholly critical, and Wath bank manager, Mr. Kenneth Powell, declared that in the first couple of weeks of the change customers had responded “Very Well”.
Accountant at the bank, Mr. John Bell, said customer reaction had been “Very favourable”, people were being encouraged to take advantage of extra banking facilities, such as credit cards, night safe services, and of course, the ordinary cheque book.
He suggested a joint account for man and wife could overcome some difficulty. He added, “I think there must be very few cases now where a man keeps from his wife the detail of just how much he is earning. A wife could often get to a bank a Husband can not because of his work.”
If banking standards where to be maintained and improved, the right sort of staff had to be attracted by the right conditions, including Saturdays off.