Every cash machine in a Perthshire tourist hotspot was either broken or empty at the weekend, leaving residents and visitors without money.
In the height of summer, people in Pitlochry could not access cash all weekend, unless they used the Co-op’s “cashback” service, which has a £50 limit, as two ATMs were broken and the third ran out of money.
The problem came as hundreds of people flocked to Highland Perthshire to attend the annual Battle of Killiecrankie re-enactment, as well as the usual crowds of tourists.
Angry residents, business owners and politicians came together to blame the problems on the closure of the town’s RBS in May, which also meant the loss of one of the few ATMs in Pitlochry.
Tracy Hall, owner of Café Calluna, said taking cash payments is a crucial part of her business but empty machines are becoming a regular feature in the town.
“There has been a massive impact on the town since RBS shut,” she said.
“The ATMs are constantly either empty or broken and for small businesses like mine it’s really difficult.
“Most small businesses have a minimum spend for card payments and a lot of my customers are older folk who prefer to pay with cash. It does make it really difficult, especially during the summer months.”
Graham Huggins, chairman of Highland Perthshire Communities Partnership, said he was not surprised when the sole working cash machine was emptied.
“I think empty ATMs are going to be a regular feature in Pitlochry during the summer,” he said.
“It’s easy for banks to say it’s not economically viable to keep branches open but what this shows is that it’s not economically viable for places like Pitlochry to have the banks closed.”
RBS has blamed a surge in online banking and card payments for the Scotland-wide branch closures but Highland Perthshire councillor Mike Williamson pointed out many summer community events such as
Highland games and the Battle of Killiecrankie festival, can only function with cash payments.
“This is the busiest time of year for places like Pitlochry and it’s unacceptable,” he said.
“Losing RBS meant, as well as losing the bank, we lost an ATM and the problems with that are showing already.
“Community events like Killiecrankie this weekend all run on cash so if people can’t get cash out they can’t spend it locally.”
Perthshire North MSP John Swinney pledged to write to RBS chief executive Ross McEwan to highlight the problems.
RBS was contacted for comment but did not respond.
