Nearly Half of Bank Branches Have Shut Since 2015 or Are Due to Close

Vulnerable customers are at risk of being abandoned as the UK’s network of bank branches contracts by nearly half in just seven years.

Consumer magazine Which? has counted 4,735 bank branches that have shut over the last six years or are scheduled to close in 2022. The figure is equal to 48% off the entire network as it existed in January 2015.

The counted closures include the 736 bank branches that have shuttered so far in 2021 and an additional 221 earmarked for closure next year, with planned major culls by Lloyds, TSB, and Virgin Money.

As they shutter locations, banks have cited changing consumer behaviour, including a shift to digital banking that was accelerated by the pandemic. 

The waves of closures also haven’t been slowed by guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published in September 2020 that requires banks to notify the regulator of planned closures and detail their impact on customers and alternatives available to them. In fact, nearly as many branches were retired in 2021 (736) as closed in 2019 and 2020 combined (813).

These closures deprive communities and small businesses of vital access to cash and banking services, with elderly and vulnerable customers the most likely to be impacted, campaigners have warned.

Natalie Ceeney, chair of the Access to Cash Action Group, said: “There are still five million people who rely on cash and the decision to close a bank branch can be really disruptive. That's not only vulnerable people who may be on low incomes or have a disability, but small businesses, whose customers pay in cash and can no longer deposit their takings at the branch that was once across the high street.”

In December, several major banks pledged to join forces and share services, a collaboration achieved through the Access to Cash Action Group. From 15 December, participants in the initiative will notify ATM network Link if they decide to shutter a branch. Link will independently evaluate what the closure means for cash provision in the local community, including consumers and businesses, and consider whether new provisioning is needed, such as a refurbished Post Office branch or a shared banking hub. 

In the hubs, banks will work jointly to offer basic cash services, along with time and space for customers to speak to their own bank for more complex services.

From the summer of 2022, communities can also request a review of their local provisioning of banking services.

So far Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander, TSB, and Danske Bank have signed onto the scheme, with others firms also considering joining.

The government has said it intends to legislate to protect the future of cash. It’s already introduced cashback without a purchase in shops, giving customers another vital source of cash on high streets.

John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “Access to cash has ongoing importance to the daily lives of millions of people across the UK, and protecting it is a priority for myself and this government.”