BARCLAYS Bank has announced it will close its branch in Lampeter later this year after a fall in customers and transactions.

The branch on Harford Square will close on Tuesday, 23 August, the bank announced today [Friday, 20 May].

Barclays said that the number of counter transactions has gone down in the two years to March 2020, and additionally "77 per cent of our branch customers also use other ways to do their banking such as online and by telephone."

Customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 12 per cent since 2015, the bank added, with 25 per cent of the Lampeter branch’s customers using nearby branches in the past 12 months.

Barclays said it had "identified that only 151 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking."

The branch moved to a four-day week and was only open between 9.30am and 2.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Counter transactions in the branch fell between 2017/18 and 2019/20 - the last figures pre-Covid - by around 600 to 29,384, the bank’s figures suggest.

The nearest Barclays branches to Lampeter following the closure will be in Llandeilo, 19 miles away, and Carmarthen, the bank said.

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake said was ‘far from convinced that this decision can be justified’.

He said: “The announcement is bitterly disappointing, not least as it comes in the very same week the UK Government announced new powers for the Financial Conduct Authority to protect access to cash in communities.

“Too many towns in Ceredigion have seen branches close in recent years, to the extent that Aberaeron, Llandysul, New Quay, and Tregaron have lost all of their bank branches. Should this decision go ahead only Aberystwyth and Cardigan will have Barclays branches in Ceredigion.

“It is true that banking practices have changed for many, but branches remain an essential service for those customers who rely on conducting their banking over the counter, as well as local businesses.

“I am far from convinced that this decision can be justified on the basis of reduced demand given the closure of so many local branches in recent years, and shall be meeting with Barclays in the near future to challenge it.

“I shall be also bringing this matter to the attention of John Glen MP, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, as he was responsible for bringing forward new powers this week that were designed to protect access to cash.”

Barclays said that some functions of banking will be able to be performed at the Post Office in Lampeter including paying in cash and cheques.

Barclays said: " Before we make the decision to close any branch, we think carefully about how it has been used so far.

"We consider how many customers have been visiting, what kind of transactions they’ve been making, and all the other ways they’ve been choosing to bank with us. "We also take into consideration the availability of other branches in the wider community."