Exploratory spatial analysis of "access" to physical and digital retail banking channels in the UK

The question of “access” to financial services in developed countries has generally been addressed as a matter of “financial exclusion” within the framework of economical and regional development. Typically, a small percentage of the population falls in the “financially excluded” category. It was often considered that this exclusion stems from various forms of self-exclusion, or from an inaccessibility to more complex products due to price or banks’ risk assessments. But perhaps another reason for this exclusion may be more straightforward. In this study, we take a look at the phenomenon of “geographical exclusion” as a growing phenomenon in the developed world. Kempson, Whyley, Caskey, & Collard (2000) and Beck & de la Torre (2006) defined the “geographic exclusion” component of the financial exclusion as “the absence of bank branches or delivery points”. Nowadays, this definition needs to be extended with the digital delivery of financial services. After all, digital banking also has a geographical component: accessing digital banking depends on the availability and quality of fixed and mobile broadband in the area. Furthermore, just like assessing access to public transportation, green spaces or supermarkets, “access” to financial service channels gives us additional information about the quality of life of the communities living in a certain area. An individual could experience the access to physical or digital banking channels very differently, depending on his place of residence or socio-economic characteristics