ROYAL Bank of Scotland has been accused of a further “betrayal” of rural communities after cutting mobile van services supposed to offset a wave of branch closures.

The bank, which is mostly publicly-owned, was condemned after reducing access to vans in the Highlands despite recently telling MPs about extra investment in its mobile service.

A new weekly timetable due to start next month includes more stops but shorter visiting times for some locations, as services are spread more thinly.

Kingussie, which lost its branch last year, will see its van cut from 90 to 20 minutes a week.

Other casualties include Spean Bridge, where the van time will fall from 90 to 15 minutes, Roy Bridge from 60 to 15 minutes, and Fort Augustus from 135 minutes to 30.

The SNP branded the timetable changes, which were announced via leaflets rather than with a public consultation, a "betrayal" of customers and communities.

The bank announced in December that it planned to close 62 RBS branches in Scotland, although after a public outcry it later announced a partial reprieve for 10.

The Commons Scottish Affairs Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into the plans, and is due to hear evidence from RBS chief executive Ross McEwen on May 8.

In January, Les Matheson, CEO of Personal and Business Banking at RBS, told the committee: “In the last three years, we have invested £33m in our Scottish branch network and mobile banking fleet with a further £12m investment planned for 2018."

RBS was “increasing the number of mobile vans” it had, he said.

Scottish Labour MP Ged Killen, who sits on the committee, said he would be asking Mr McEwen “why RBS has let down its customers and communities yet again”.

He said: “RBS executives offered reassurances that customers would be supported through the closure of 62 branches.

“These words will now appear hollow to those communities which could be cut off as a result of the scaling back of the mobile bank van service.

“This type of action is typical of the RBS approach to its customers.

“Throughout the rounds of bank closures, RBS has offered olive branches of support when put under pressure over concerns about reduced services, only for them to be snatched away once the dust has settled.”

The charity Age Scotland said older people would be hardest hit by the changes, as they were less likely to use online and telephone banking.

Chief executive Brian Sloan said: “Following RBS’s decision to close branches across Scotland, it is very disappointing to see the bank now cutting back its mobile services.

“Giving customers as little as 20 minutes once a week to do all their banking is simply not good enough. We would urge RBS and other banks to look at creative solutions to cater for all their customers. One option could be shared branches with several banks dividing the costs between them. This would provide a convenient one-stop branch for customers.

“Another option could be sharing premises with post offices or other businesses.”

SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth said the behaviour of RBS was “appalling”.

She said: “Not only have they reduced the service to customers across the country even further – they’ve done so by quietly changing the timetable as opposed to being straight with people. It’s yet another betrayal of RBS customers.

“It’s time for RBS to be upfront with customers and communities – this kind of behaviour erodes trust in the bank even further after their shameful rounds of closures over the last few years.

"They ought to remember who saved the bank from going under just a decade ago.”

The Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland said poorer van access would make life harder for local firms to trade.

RBS said it had launched 58 new mobile branch stops across Scotland following a review of its existing network, bringing the total to 488 in over 450 communities each week.

A spokesperson said: “Our customers have many different ways to bank with us. These mobile branch routes can be a lifeline for communities that have never had access to a bank; some are taking on new stops where, unfortunately, an existing branch will be closing.

“Our staff and Community Bankers will be on hand to demonstrate the services available through our mobile branches when the new routes start.

“We welcome feedback on how these services are running, and have already committed to reviewing these timetables on a monthly basis.”