1y ago

What's going on with England's banks?

Clueless American here. I saw a commercial for Nationwide bank promising the keep their branches open until at least 2028. Is there a push to close banks? Is this more fallout from Brexit?

16 comments

As people use online banking more, less are going to physical buildings. Plus their hours were also awkward and didn't fit in with people working weekends etc. Why pay all the costs of maintaining a building, and more importantly, the costs and wages of people to staff them when you can have a website?
Where I live in Ware, Hertfordshire we don't have a bank anymore. There used to be ay least four. There's building society, but banking has to be done via the post office. Which is in a shop. The main post office closed some years ago and moved into a shop. That closed and we had nothing for over a year.
It's shite.
- Welcome to blessed liberalized UK where the market regulates itself for the benefit of the people!
- How often do you need to go to a bank branch though? I last went in 2017 and even that wasn't a necessary trip.
  
  Personally? Very, very rarely now. The last time was to open a joint account with my wife. Can't do that in the branch in Hertford (the county town) apparently. We didn't bother in the end.
  Shopkeepers trying to pay in their takings, older people that can't use web services. People that want to talk about their requirements rather than filling out a poorly thought out script on the aforementioned web page, all need somewhere physical.
  We are supposed to be getting a banking hub, the main banks will each have a representation there. Its been asked about for a couple of years now but hasn't got anywhere.
  
  How do businesses handle cash in this situation?
Nothing to do with Brexit, banks have been reducing their high street presence for 20yrs plus in the UK.
Santander had some banks become part Costa Coffee and part bank to reduce costs as another example of money saving.
Too expensive to keep branches open
Nobody really does physical banking any more so the banks are closing their physical branches. There's a lot of backlash because a few people can't use online banking, it's difficult because the numbers are small and it's hard to justify staffing a full building when 5 customers turn up each day.
It's not brexit related.
Ah, OK thanks for the insight
When you think about it, it does make sense from the business point of view. Banks don't make money on individual customers, so the ones that use physical locations. They make money off corporate customers, who are terribly unlikely to ever need to talk to a clerk in person. And with individual customers moving to online banking, it's even less justifiable to run a physical location.

16 comments