Charities say vulnerable people risk being left without access to banking services as more branches continue to shut their doors for good
Three major banks are set to close another ten bank branches this week in a major blow for customers.
Halifax will close five branches, while NatWest will shut four and Lloyds will close one location. High street banks say fewer people are using their branches, with most people choosing to use online banking instead.
However, charities say vulnerable people risk being left without access to banking services. Banks and building societies have closed 6,561 branches since January 2015, which amounts to an average of 53 closures every month, according to Which? data.
Which? says 432 closures have been scheduled for 2025, including 105 from NatWest, 101 from Halifax, 95 from Santander, 93 from Lloyds, 24 from Bank of Scotland, eight from TSB and six from Barclays.
There are 71 bank branches scheduled for closure in 2026, including 40 from Lloyds, 17 from Bank of Scotland and 14 from Halifax.
If your local branch is closing, you can do some basic cash or counter services at your nearest Post Office – for example, if you need to pay in cash and cheques, make withdrawals and check your balance.
Some banks also now run pop-up branches or vans, but you’ll need to check online to see when one is due to visit your town.
A spokesperson for NatWest said when the bank last announced closures: “Over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online.
“Our customers appreciate the speed and convenience of digital banking for everyday transactions, and often, when it comes to making bigger, more complex decisions they value speaking to our skilled and experienced colleagues.
“Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations and we’ve been responding to the industry wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation.”
A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Halifax, said when the bank last announced closures: “Over 20 million customers are using our apps for on-demand access to their money and customers have more choice and flexibility than ever for their day-to-day banking.
“Alongside our apps, customers can also use telephone banking, visit a community banker or use any Halifax, Lloyds or Bank of Scotland branch, giving access to many more branches. Customers can also do their everyday banking at over 11,000 branches of the Post Office or in a Banking Hub.”
Halifax
- Carmarthen – October 6
- Hayes – October 6
- Southport – October 7
- Kingswood – October 8
- Folkestone – October 9
NatWest
- Stevenage (Queensway) – October 7
- Wellingborough – October 7
- Midsomer Norton (Radstock) – October 8
- Stratford-upon-Avon – October 8
Lloyds
- Tooting, London – October 8