Meet the Flying Banker! One woman defies gales to serve remote customers on northerly islands

Few bank workers' days begin with the whirr of propellers while strapped into a tiny aircraft. 

But the short flight on a ten-seater plane is just part of an average morning for Lois Canning, Britain's only dedicated Flying Banker.

The service, believed to be one of only a handful operating worldwide and connecting some of the remotest parts of the British Isles, is currently marking its 60th anniversary.

Once upon a time, Ms Canning worked in telephone banking at a call centre in Berkshire. 

Now she flies to meet NatWest Group customers on tiny islands who still depend on a physical banker for essential cash transactions, advice – or if there's a hiatus in the region's temperamental internet connection.

'Some people tell me I have the best job in the world,' says Ms Canning, who now lives on the inner Orkney island of Shapinsay, having moved up with her partner and then-teenage daughter. Her grown-up son chose to stay in England.

NatWest Group – which includes the NatWest and RBS brands – has closed more than 1,500 branches since 2015 and a current round of 40 closures ends early next year. 

They're among a total of 6,896 shuttered by banks and building societies since 2015, according to the consumer group Which?.

As closures create growing numbers of bank-branch deserts around the country, the Flying Banker ensures that those in some of the most remote parts of the UK still have access to in-person services.

And she has to be prepared for being unexpectedly marooned if the weather closes in or there are unforeseen difficulties with planes or ferries.

Her customers, from teenage students to farmers, business owners and community groups, view the service – a kind of British banking equivalent to Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service – as a lifeline, and NatWest Group is committed to keeping it going for years to come.

The Mail on Sunday spent a day with Ms Canning as she travelled between Kirkwall and Westray in the Orkney Isles.

Ms Canning, who took over the role in 2019, has just turned 65 but has no plans to retire. 'It's a way of life that I love,' she says.

She's on first-name terms with Loganair's pilots who usually fly her to work.

Last week, however, gales saw the 20-minute flight back from Westray to Kirkwall cancelled, and she instead had to catch a ferry back, which took 90 minutes through choppy seas.

'It's not unusual for this time of year, especially. Even in summer we get disruption, often from the haar [sea fog],' she says.

On Westray, home to 600 people, Ms Canning sets up in a small building next to the shore which she runs from 10am to 4.15pm every Wednesday, welcoming a steady stream of up to 50 customers a day. A sign in the building warns customers to be prepared for weather-related disruption.

She offers a 'cash in, cash out' service, allowing businesses to deposit takings and obtain change, lets people pay in cheques and supports those having trouble with the bank's app.

When the undersea cable providing Westray's internet was damaged in March, Ms OnbCanning was able to help customers by providing her in-branch service then taking paperwork back to Kirkwall to process.

Stewart Groat, 49, a farmer, taxi driver, shopkeeper and airport worker on Westray, employing ten people, depends on Ms Canning for cash.

'We could use the Post Office but it's run by a shop which is our competitor and you cannot get change there. We also pay wages in cash,' he says.

He added that having the Flying Banker makes the islanders feel valued.

One of Ms Canning's youngest customers is university student Phoebe Ryder, 19. She works part-time in a shop and cafe, and uses the bank to pay her wages in.

Ms Ryder, originally from Cannock, Staffordshire, first came to Westray on a holiday with her parents seven years ago – but when they were stranded for a while by bad weather and her father spotted a 'doer-upper' property, it soon became their home.

She says: 'Lois has helped me with my accounts, including setting up an Isa.

'With my younger brother, she helped him set up his account and even gave him her mobile number in case anything went wrong. That's not a service you expect these days.

'If you go to the bank in Kirkwall, it's a round-trip of three hours and you end up losing a day.'

Teenie Harcus, 59, who runs a hostel, B&B and campsite, says that while 'a lot can be done online', her business uses 'quite a bit of cash' meaning 'it's important to be able to bank it and access change'.

Cattle farmer Maggie Drever, 65, has used the Flying Banker since she was 16. 

These days she drops by to pay in cheques from selling animals at livestock auctions and has also brought her 91-year-old mother along for help with online banking.

'Lois is very patient and takes her time with people,' she says.

Margaret Hutchison, treasurer of Westray Heritage Trust, which runs the island's museum, also depends on the bank for cash transactions. 

She says Ms Canning now 'knows everybody and she's good to deal with'.

On alternate Thursdays, Ms Canning flies to the islands of Sanday and Stronsay – Orkney's north isles. 

There she has helped members of the Sanday Community Craft Hub by arranging with colleagues for them to use the bank buildings on days she isn't there.

Tracy Ranger, treasurer and director of the Craft Hub, which has more than 70 members, says: 'We don't have any space to spare in our current buildings. It's meant the world to us.'

NatWest Group also operates a mobile banking service using a fleet of vans, covering 577 stops in remote areas across the UK under the NatWest brand in England and Wales, RBS in Scotland and Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland.

The 'bank on wheels' – which turned 80 this year – can handle cash transactions and help people struggling to use apps or online services – especially older and more vulnerable customers.

Graeme Lowe, who drives the RBS van in rural Aberdeenshire, says the service is sometimes 'the only regular contact' some customers have with anyone except their immediate family. 

He adds: 'There was one lady who was a regular customer but hadn't been seen for several weeks. We gave her a call and found out she'd had a fall, so we sent her flowers. We've built that relationship with quite a few people.'

At Banchory, on the road from Aberdeen to Balmoral, outdoor equipment shop owner Nicky Adam says that although 90 per cent of his sales are now by card, the cash facilities offered by the mobile branch save him hours of travelling.

'The nearest branch is Aberdeen – 20 miles there, 20 miles back, parking and going into the branch would take up an entire morning. 

'You could use the Post Office but there's always a large queue. I use the van every week – it makes a huge difference.'

Andrew Harrison, Nat West Group's head of local banking, said the continuation of the Flying Banker service addresses the challenge of 'how to make sure people have necessary access to banking in these more remote areas'.

Of Ms Canning, he added: 'What she does is truly special. She the face of banking in those communities and is really well-known.'

NatWest Group said it is investing £50m in revamping its remaining 336 branches. After a current round of 40 closures ends early next year, it has pledged to keep the rest open until at least 2029.