Bank branches are set to disappear from UK High Streets by 2041 according to a new study which also predicts that ATMs will be a distant memory within 20 years.

Expert Market, a card payment comparison site conducted an analysis of data compiled by the House of Commons library, consumer watchdog Which? And link.co.uk, concluding that the rise in digital and mobile banking being led by the millennial generation makes the decline of physical stores “inevitable.”

The shift towards cashless payments will spell the end of the traditional bank branch by 2041, the study predicted, falling from 9,279 this year to 4,344 in 2030 before vanishing from High Streets in 2041.

Meanwhile ATM cash machines are likely to decline at a rate of 3,600 a year from 69,600 in 2018 to 22,800 in 2030 before they are phased out in 2037.

The report highlighted the impact of dwindling access to cash machines on residents of rural parts of the UK, and recommended that businesses may benefit from enabling card payments to keep up with technological change.

Jared Keleher of Expert Market comments: “If the trend towards a cashless society continues at theexpected pace, it's more important than ever for people to adapt.

“With access to cash likely to be extremely limited and eventually non-existent, people should get to grips with online banking as soon as possible and businesses should ensure that card machines are available at every store.”

The analysis came as a separate study commissioned by ATM operator Cardtronics of 2,000 UK consumers sought to underline the continuing importance of cash payments to the economy.

The Cardtronics survey conducted by Populus found that 83 per cent of UK of British shoppers believe that free access to cash in their local area would be essential if their bank branches shut, with ATMs considered a public utility regardless of the banking brand that operates them.

The study also found that two in five (39 per cent) of UK consumers said they did not feel ready to shift their banking to online if their local branch was closed.

Tim Halford, Managing Director of Cardtronics UK and Ireland said: “As banking moves online, ATMs and self-service innovation are key in ensuring that a basic financial infrastructure remains in local communities.

"And it’s not just about meeting continued consumer demand – it ultimately helps banks make the digital shift by offering their customers a strategic bridge between the physical and the digital worlds of banking.”

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