The use of bank branches in the UK has fall 6% in 2014 as customers shifted the transaction mode to phone networks and internet. According to a report, use of smartphones and tablets will usurp branches this year as customers will check their current accounts on mobile devices about 895 million times in 2015 against 705 million contacts made through branches. The digital technology also has an impact on call centres, with a 43% decline of customers between 2008 and 2013. The increase in e-banking had resulted in closure of branches and cutting of jobs. The number of bank branches in the UK fell from 13,349 some 20 years ago to just under 9,702 in 2013. Lloyds is closing 200 branches and cutting 9,000 jobs as it adopts digital technologies. HSBC announced last week that it was to cut 25,000 jobs worldwide, including 8,000 in the UK, in part because of the introduction of new technology.
