Free Bank Accounts Will Soon Be A Thing Of The Past, Admits RBS Chief

The chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland believes we will all soon have to pay for our bank accounts.

Ross McEwan told LBC that the public doesn't understand the level of service that goes into the banking industry and it's not right that accounts, cheques, ATMs and more are completely free.

Talking about the closure of ATMs around the country, he said: "There's 50,000 ATMs across the UK and they are free to use, other than some of the private equity firms are starting to put a charge. But all the bank ones are free to use, so it doesn't matter if it's our ATM or somebody else's you can use them free of charge. We pick up the fee for that of about 25p on behalf of customers.

"Customers don't pay anything for these accounts. They don't pay anything for a cheque. They don't pay anything for an ATM. They don't pay anything for actually coming into a branch. They don't pay for the contact centres.

"It's an amazing service that for most customers is free.

Ross McEwan in the LBC studio. Picture: LBC

"We're going to have to get to a time where we're charging so people actually realise there's a service behind it.

"One of the things the industry has done to itself in the last 20 years is let people think that everything is free, therefore it's no value. We've got to find a solution to that.

"In most countries in the world, you pay something for the services that are provided. Over time, it cannot continue."

Watch the full phone-in with Ross McEwan below