Make your money go further
Find the best deals, avoid scams, and grow your savings with our expert guidance. From only £4.99 a month.
Join Which? MoneyCancel anytime.
TSB to close 28 branches in 2024 – is your local on the list?
The bank said 96% of transactions took place outside of a branch
TSB will close 28 bank branches in 2024 and eight in 2025, stating it needs to move to a 'better balance of digital and face-to-face services'.
It's not the only bank to announce closures, in fact all the major banking providers have sites earmarked to close this year and next.
Here, Which? reveals the full list of TSB branches that will close and looks at what’s being done to protect access to cash.
Which branches are closing in 2024 and 2025?
The table below shows the locations of all those due to close in 2024 and 2025. You can use the search bar to see if your local branch is affected:
Why are these branches closing?
TSB said 96% of all transactions were now taking place outside of a branch, and it had seen a 43% fall in the number of customer transactions across its branch network in the past four years.
It said: 'The decision to close a branch is never taken lightly, but our customers are now doing most of their banking digitally and we need to move to a better balance of digital and face-to-face services.
'We remain committed to a national branch network and through innovation and integration with video, telephone, digital, branch and other face-to-face services TSB customers have more ways to bank with us than ever before.'
TSB said it will have 175 branches remaining after these closures, plus an expanded range of other face-to-face banking options such as TSB Pods, where staff are available to support customers with product and banking queries.
- Find out more: is your local bank branch closing?
Which other banks are closing branches?
TSB isn't the only bank to announce closures this year. Almost all major high-street banks have sites earmarked for closures, and more could follow.
- Lloyds Banking Group has 167 due to close in 2024
- Barclays has 90 due to close in 2024 and 6 in 2025
- NatWest Group (including Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank) has 98 scheduled to close in 2024
- Danske Bank has 4 sites due to close.
Find out more: best banks
Why cash still matters
Cash is the second-most frequently used method of payment in the UK. Used by 5.4 million adults, it also provides a lifeline for vulnerable groups.
Which? research has found that cash can be a useful budgeting tool for households during the cost of living crisis and people in remote areas may not have reliable broadband or mobile connectivity for digital payments.
It's also a vital lifeline for the elderly, who are more likely to visit bank branches in person.
What's being done to protect access to cash?
Here are some of the cash solutions that have been announced or put in place since our campaign began:
TSB ‘pop-up’ branches
TSB has 45 pop-up bank branches across England, Wales and Scotland and plans to up this to 51 over the next 12 months.
You can access the following services at pop-up locations:
- Help with managing your existing payments, such as direct debits
- Internet and mobile banking registration, forgotten passwords and troubleshooting
- Reporting lost or stolen cards
- Non-cash payments to someone you’ve paid before, up to £10,000
- Help with general product enquiries
- Help with managing finances if you’ve suffered a bereavement.
However, you won’t be able to withdraw or deposit cash, or open and close accounts. You can find your nearest pop-up location on the TSB website.
- Find out more: is your local bank open on a Saturday?
New law to protect access to cash
Banks and building societies will have to plug gaps in local cash provision under new rules proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Legislation that came into force in June 2023 gave the watchdog new powers to ensure people could conveniently withdraw and deposit cash following the rapid rate of bank and ATM closures.
The FCA said its new rules will not prevent bank branches from closing but will help ‘manage the pace of change’ and mean that any location set to lose a bank or other cash access point (such as an ATM) must have alternative provisions in place before it shuts.
Reviews by Link to commission new cash services
In December 2021, the Cash Action Group (CAG) announced that any community facing the closure of a core cash service, such as a bank branch or ATM, will trigger an independent review by Link.
Link will determine whether a new solution should be provided. It will have the power to commission services, such as a shared banking hub or better Post Office services, to meet the cash needs of the community as a whole – not just the customers of one bank or building society.
Out of the latest TSB closures, five banking hubs have been recommended in Banff in Scotland, Flint in Wales, and Amble, Crook and Whitchurch in England.
- Find out more: is access to cash solutions enough?
Post Office services
Since January 2020, customers of certain banks have been able to use Post Office branches to withdraw and deposit cash in their accounts and make balance queries. Most banks will also allow you to deposit cheques.
This service, described as a 'lifeline' by the Post Office, means that people can still access essential services, even if their local bank branch has shut.
The service will run until December 2025, after a new agreement was signed with 30 banks in February 2022.
- Find out more: Post Office will offer banking services for 30 banks
Cashback without purchase
This initiative allows people to request cashback at the till in their local convenience store, without needing to make a purchase or pay a fee. It became possible last summer after a change in legislation.
A commercial scheme, operated by Link, was rolled out at the end of 2021 and is available in 2,000 stores.
You can find out where this service is on offer by using Link's cash locator on its website or mobile app. Just type in your location and search for the orange symbols which state 'CT'.
- Find out more: cashback without purchase expands
Which? Money Podcast
Join us on our weekly audio show for the latest money news and personal finance hacks to help make you better off.
Listen nowThis article was first published in January 2023 and was last updated on 8 May 2024 with details of new planned closures.
