ANOTHER North Ayrshire high street bank branch is to close for good.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s West Kilbride branch in Main Street will shut its doors for the last time at the end of October – victim of a decline in the number of customers calling into the branch and a dramatic growth in online and smartphone banking.

The closure will leave the village with no banks.

RBS says branch transactions have plummeted by around 36 per cent since 2010 with online and mobile transactions growing by more than 300 per cent.

Only nine per cent of the baled-out bank’s total transactions are now done in branches compared to 25 per cent in 2010.

West Kilbride RBS customers will now have to travel to Saltcoats if they want to have a face to face conversation about their finances.

But one village resident who didn’t want to be named blasted the decision, saying older residents would be badly hit.

“We have a large elderly population in West Kilbride and I’m pretty sure not all of them have access to the internet, or would even want to use it given all the issues there are over security.

“You read every day about people being scammed and older people are much more traditional and cautious when it comes to dealing with money.

“It’s just a different culture to the way banks are taking things now and they are not thinking about the older generation.

“It just comes down to the bottom line on their balance sheets and keeping shareholders happy.

“I tried to phone up to speak to someone senior about it and getting through was a nightmare.

“It was like the Mafia.” Rob Shergill who owns Murray’s newsagents next door said the branch would be missed.

“We use it every day. It’s convenient for us. We will survive, and we’ve got the option to use the Post Office.

“A lot of people in the village are going to suffer, but it’s just one of those things.” RBS says it is working to provide alternative facilities for their customers – an ATM will still be available and a part-time mobile branch will be introduced.

Post offices can be also used for a range of over the counter RBS transactions.

A spokesperson for RBS said: “We have taken the difficult decision to close the RBS West Kilbride branch on October 27.

“The number of transactions taking place at West Kilbride branch has dropped by 16 per cent since 2011 and only 66 customers use the branch on a regular weekly basis.

“Twenty-nine of these customers already use other branches in the area.

"We are committed to following the UK Government protocol on branch closures, and we have made the decision following careful consideration of a wide range of factors including branch usage and the alternative ways our customers can bank with us locally.  “We are writing to all of our customers who use the branch, as well as displaying posters in branch to let them know of the closure.

“Between now and the closure date, we will engage with all of our customers, local businesses and the wider local community to make sure they are aware of the alternative ways of accessing their banking with us in the local area, and to answer any questions they might have.”  The move follows the announcement that Barclays will close its Saltcoats branch in September leaving customers facing a trek to Kilmarnock if they want to deal in person with a bank clerk.

The Barclays closure is also down to falling numbers of customers using the branch.

The West Kilbride RBS building will be put up for sale after it closes.