The very last bank in a Pembrokeshire tourist honeypot is set to close its doors next week.

St Davids will lose its very last serving bank as Lloyd’s closes its branch in the city.

This summer Lloyds Banking Group confirmed that the St Davids branch on Cross Square will close its doors for the final time on Monday, November 27.

“As many customers now choose to bank online or through their mobile app, visits to our St Davids branch have fallen over recent years,” said a Lloyds Bank spokesperson.

“The local Post Office offers everyday banking and our customers can also bank online, over the phone and through mobile banking.”

Lloyds said that branch transactions at St Davids fell more than 65 per cent between 2018 and 2023.

The Barclays branch in the city closed in 2018, meaning that Lloyds was the last remaining bank in the popular tourist destination.

This latest closure forms part of Lloyds Banking Group’s decision to close at least 144 sites in 2023 and an additional seven sites in 2024.

The closure comes despite efforts by local MP Stephen Crabb to keep the bank open.

After an urgent meeting with Lloyds senior personnel this summer, the bank confirmed that it will not be providing a mobile bank for the city.

Lloyds says a community banker will visit the city after the branch closure to continue to offer face to face support for as long as the community needs it. Customers will be encouraged to use the Post Office to carry out most of their banking services.

There is a post office counter inside St David’s NISA store, on New Street. This will offer banking services - including deposits, free cash withdrawals and balance checks, as well as offering face-to-face access to government services, bill payment, foreign currency, travel insurance and postal services.

There are also Post Office services available at 19 Maes Ewan Solva. “Post offices are proving vital to retaining individual and business access to cash as the banks continue to desert the high street in order to cut costs and increase their profits,” said a spokesperson from The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP).

“Every post office plays a vital role within the heart of the local community.

The closure of the bank also means the removal of its ATM machine, prompting concerns about access to cash in St Davids.

There is one other cash point machine in the city, located outside the NISA store.

In the run up to Lloyds closing the machine has stopped charging for withdrawals, this had been arranged by Lloyds and will remain the case until LINK installs an additional ATM in the area.

“This closure is sadly a sign of the times with so many other banking channels being used regularly, and conveniently, by customers,” said Mr Crabb.

“But nonetheless it is another empty high street premises whose fate is yet to be determined.”

Lloyds Banking Group said that all sites facing closure have had footfall decreased by an average of 55 per cent in the last five years.

The group, which includes Halifax, Lloyds Bank and the Bank of Scotland, was responsible for the highest number of bank closures in 2022, which totalled 186.This was closely followed by Barclays, which closed 184 sites.

The group has stated that over 20 million of their customers regularly use online banking while 17.3 million use mobile banking.