The chair of Castletown Commissioners has described the planned removal of the town’s Barclays cash machine as ‘another blow’ to the south of the island.

Tony Brown said he was ‘concerned and disappointed’ at Barclays’ decision to remove the ATM at Castletown Civic Centre on December 11.

The decision is part of a wider move by Barclays to remove three cash machines across the island, with ATMs in Peel and at the Isle of Man Business Park also due to be taken out of service on the same date.

Mr Brown said the bank’s explanation that customers could continue to access cash at its Douglas branch demonstrated a lack of understanding of the island’s communities.

He said: ‘The point that Barclays states in its statement; “…we are still available at our branch in Douglas, where you can access cash services and ATMs are located…” indicates a misunderstanding about our island’s community.

‘Unfortunately, this decision is out of the hands of the Barclays management located on the island, as it is a decision made by a UK company.’

The Castletown ATM was installed at the town hall after Barclays closed its branch in the ancient capital in February 2024, leaving the town without a permanent bank branch.

The machine was intended to maintain local access to cash following the branch closure.

Once it is removed, cash machines will remain available at Tesco Express on Arbory Street and at the Isle of Man Bank facility in the foyer of Ronaldsway Airport.

Barclays has told customers that alternative ATMs can still be used and that cashback is available from participating retailers.

The bank also said cash services would remain available at its Douglas branch, where there are ATMs both inside and outside.

It said: ‘We appreciate that this may not be welcome news, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience it may cause.’

Barclays added that its digital services provided a ‘quickest, easiest, and most secure’ way to carry out day-to-day banking.

The decision has attracted criticism online, with residents raising concerns about the impact on elderly people and those who rely on cash.

One social media user said the bank had ‘no right to restrict our access to legal tender’, while another raised concerns about the impact in Peel, where the Barclays ATM closure will leave fewer local options for withdrawing cash (just the one, outside the Tesco superstore on Derby Road).

Another described the decision as ‘a joke’, adding that cash machines were needed, especially by elderly people.

The closures come amid a wider shift away from traditional banking, with banks across the island having reduced branch networks and moved more services online in recent years.

Barclays itself closed its Castletown branch in 2024, while its Ramsey branch closed in 2025.

Previous bank closures have also been attributed to changing customer behaviour, with banks pointing to the increasing use of online and mobile banking.

Isle of Man Bank has previously said customers were visiting branches less frequently as more people used its app and online services.