Another major bank to close 39 branches this year – is your local on the list?

A MAJOR bank is set to close 39 branches across the country this year.

Virgin Money says the closures are due to “changing customer demand”.

Each branch which is shutting is less than half a mile from the nearest Post Office, according to Virgin.

It means customers can use to carry out day-to-day transactions, like cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque deposits and balance enquiries, as well as coin exchange.

The branches which have been signposted for closure are have seen an average reduction in customer transactions of 43% since March 2020, the bank said.

While other roles will be sought for staff, Virgin said that there may be up to 255 redundancies as a result of the closures.

Virgin Money last announced store closures in September 2021.

Following this latest round of branches shutting, which will take effect later this year, it will have a network of 91 stores across the UK.

Sarah Wilkinson, chief operating officer at Virgin Money, said: “The decision to close a store is never taken lightly. But as our customers continue to change the way they want to bank with us, by conducting fewer transactions in-store and adopting the convenience of digital banking, we must respond to that evolving demand.”

Here is the full list of branches which will be shutting:

• Belfast – 13 November
• Bournemouth – 7 November
• Brighton – 9 November
• Bristol – 1 November
• Bromley – 30 November
• Cambridge – 25 October
• Cardiff – 2 November
• Chelmsford – 20 November
• Cheltenham – 30 October
• Chester – 19 October
• Croydon – 13 November
• Derby – 17 October
• Durham – 6 November
• Ellon – 27 November
• Enfield – 21 November
• Exeter – 6 November
• Fort William Wednesday – 22 November
• Golders Green – 22 November
• Gosforth Centre – 8 November
• Guildford – 14 November
• Harrow – 23 November
• Hexham – 7 November
• Irvine, High Street – 20 November
• Kendal – 6 December
• Kensington – 27 November
• Kingston – 28 November
• Liverpool – 5 December
• Lochgilphead – 21 November
• London – Haymarket – 29 November
• Milton Keynes – 23 October
• Newton Stewart – 15 November
• Norwich – 26 October
• Oxford – 16 November
• Reading – 15 November
• Southampton – 8 November
• St Albans – 24 October
• Swindon – 31 October
• Turriff – 28 November
• Wolverhampton – 18 October

Many, particularly the elderly, still rely on in-person services and the closures will make it more difficult for these people to access services.

But there are still a number of ways in which affected customers can access basic banking services without having to venture to the next town.

If the latest raft of closures will leave you with no bank in your town, you should be able to do most basic tasks at your local Post Office. 

You can use one of the Post Office’s nearly 12,000 branches to perform basic banking tasks — but not open new bank accounts or take personal loans and mortgages.

Many banks also offer a mobile banking service, which is where your bank brings a bus to your local area that has the services that are usually available at your branch.

You should call up your bank to see if it runs such a service and they will be able to tell you where and when it will be parked.

Other banks use buildings such as village halls or libraries to offer mobile banking services.

Banking hubs, which offer traditional shared services, have also been set up in several locations around the UK to help plug the gap — including Brixham, Cambuslang, Cottingham and Rochford.

Meanwhile, we’ve rounded up the full list of banks closing locations this summer.

Plus, Barclays also revealed it was pulling the shutters down on another 14 locations this year.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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