Almost half of those quizzed for a survey by Britannia Building Society said they would prefer to have a branch near their home so they could talk over matters.

Overall, 61% said they enjoyed face-to-face contact with their bank, and a massive two-thirds said they'd like to see overseas call centres closed - mainly because of language difficulties.

More than 4,000 bank and building society branches were shut in Britain between 1995 and 2003, icWales reported.