First in Which? Money magazine
This story first appeared in Which? Money magazine. Join for reviews and investigations, plus 1-to-1 guidance from our experts.
Join Which? MoneyOnly £49 per year
Are banking hubs keeping up with bank branch closures?
Nearly 7,000 bank branches have closed in the UK since 2015
Josh is an award-nominated journalist with nearly a decade of experience, including writing for national newspapers. A data whizz, he specialises in covering personal finance and investing.
Bank branch closures are starting to pick up the pace again this year, with both Lloyds and NatWest recently announcing a slew of additional outlets set for the chopping block.
Despite new powers given to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to clamp down on branch closures, as well as an ongoing government review into face-to-face banking, the bleed out has only been partially tapered.
So far 315 branches have been scheduled for closure this year, plus another 18 are already planned to go next year, as high street banks continue to point fingers at reduced footfall and a shift to digital banking.
Community banking hubs have been touted as the solution to the crisis, but is the rollout keeping up? Read on to find out.
Bank branch closures since 2015
Which? has been tracking branch closures for more than a decade now, and by our count banks and building societies have closed a staggering 6,872 branches since January 2015 – 69% of the nation’s physical banking network.
A survey of Which? members last year found that 40% had lost access to their local bank branch in the past five years.
Closures peaked in 2017 when 867 branches were shuttered, and there was another surge just after the Covid pandemic. As the chart shows, closures have slowed since then, but we’re still seeing hundreds of branches axed each year.
Banking hub openings have been gathering pace
*2026 data is for the year up until June 19
- Find out more: is your local bank closing?
Millions now live without a local bank branch
Several communities have been left in virtual ‘cash deserts’.
Nearly six million people live in 55 parliamentary constituencies with no remaining bank branches.
A further 100 constituencies, with a combined population of almost 10.5 million, are down to their last branch.
- Find out more: best bank account switching deals
What’s being done to protect cash services?
Following a long-standing Which? campaign, legislation came into force in June 2023 to ensure people could have free access to cash.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says banks must weigh up whether local communities lack access to cash services – and plug significant gaps.
While the FCA has the power to delay branch closures, it can’t keep branches open indefinitely, and banks have continued to find reasons to shut them.
In May, the government announced a new review into the provision of face-to-face banking services, but it’s not clear what it could propose or when.
Shared banking hubs have been touted as the best way to fill the gaps.
- Find out more: watchdog uses new powers to protect access to cash
What are banking hubs?
Banking hubs provide counter services for deposits, withdrawals and paying bills. They also offer face-to-face banking with a representative of your bank for more complicated enquiries, such as managing your account.
Community hubs had a slow start to life – just two were opened in 2021 and another two in 2022. Meanwhile, those two years saw 735 and 662 bank branch closures respectively.
Slowly but surely, the rollout has gained momentum as 101 hubs joined the growing list last year, and another 36 have been delivered this year to date.
In total, there are now 240 community banking hubs operating across the UK. Another 40 sites are currently in the works, according to non-profit Cash Access UK (CAUK).
Which? has called for – and the Labour party manifesto is committed to – 350 banking hubs to be operating by the end of this Parliament, with that number potentially being revised upwards if more branches are closed.
Even 350 is a tiny fraction of the 6,857 bank branches that have been cut since 2015.
However, the comparison is more complicated because some branches opened during that time. Moreover, each hub provides counter services to customers of all major banks and features bankers from a handful of banks with large customer bases in the area.
Then again, those representatives may only be present one day a week, compared with branches' longer opening hours.
Gareth Oakley, CEO of Cash Access UK, told us that banking hubs are popular: ‘On average, we’re seeing over 150 transactions every day in each hub and nearly one million transactions per month across all hubs and our wider cash services.
‘The majority of customers come in to withdraw or deposit cash, but we also have people looking for support with more complex issues such as power of attorney, support following a bereavement or payments and transfers.’
- Find out more: are banking hubs the answer to disappearing branches?
Which banks are keeping branches open?
In 2019, Nationwide promised not to close any of its branches for several years, and the commitment has been extended until 2030. This covered Virgin Money branches after Nationwide acquired the brand.
The move hasn’t marked a turning point for in-person banking, though.
While Barclays and HSBC have similar pledges, they only extend to 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Following its recent round of closures, RBS has pledged no more until 2029.
As of July, Cumberland Building Society has also pledged to remain in the communities it serves to support local consumers and businesses. Cumberland Building Society has 31 branches across the north west and the Scottish Borders.
The decision to pause closures means that Nationwide now has the largest branch network of any single brand.
- Find out more: best banks and bank accounts
