21 per cent of UK SMEs say that it takes staff members 31 to 45 minutes to reach their nearest bank, according to new research.

A study conducted by SME price comparison site BusinessComparison, which last month surveyed 1,000 UK-based SME owners and senior decision-makers, found that 74 per cent of respondents have fewer bank branches near their business than there were a decade ago.

A further 51 per cent of respondents said it takes them 11 to 30 minutes to get to their local bank.

The figures come amidst a wave of branch closures as customers shift to online banking.

The results demonstrate that the vast majority of respondents are concerned about bank closures, with only 12 per cent saying they are not worried.

Half also said they are concerned about businesses that take cash payments, while just over a third said that they are worried about the impact of bank branch closures on their customers.

“It was heartening to see how much of a sense of business community emerged from the survey results," said Philip Brennan, founder and managing director at BusinessComparison. "For 88 per cent of business leaders, the main concern when it came to bank closures was the impact on the local area, including other businesses.”

The survey found that one of the most popular reasons that SMEs still visit their local bank is to deposit takings in cash, with 46 per cent saying they 'often' or 'sometimes' go for this reason.

But over two-fifths of businesses said they "always" use digital banking services to complete routine tasks, with a further 34 per cent using this method often.

The report showed that digital payment methods are becoming increasingly popular. Either due to customer request or "difficulty using cash", over half of those surveyed said they had taken a payment using PayPal.

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