Copyright metro

Banks across the UK are continuing to shut branches with dozens of closures this month (Picture: EPA) High streets in the UK are set to become even more desolate this year with many more banks closing their doors for good. In November alone banks are shutting dozens of branches across the country as customers increasingly turn to online and mobile banking. The number of bank branches has dwindled gradually in recent years. Consumer watchdog Which? says that 6,522 bank branches have shut since January 2015 – around 53 every single month. While hundreds of branches have closed this year already, there are more in the pipeline in coming weeks and into the following year. Many people, such as older or disabled customers or small business owners, rely on local bank branches. The issue is worse in rural areas, which may have poor broadband or mobile phone signal, making internet banking difficult. How popular is online banking in the UK? Closures of high street banking branches is often linked to the rise in people managing their finances online. Some 88% of adults in Britain use online or remote banking, according to data from Finder UK. That accounts for around 48million people across the country. In 2025, 2 in 5 Brits have a digital-only bank account. This allows customers to shop around and directly compare banking options anc access in-app customer support. Advice on the app-based bank accounts available can be found on MoneySavingExpert.com, which rates Starling, Chase, Monzo and revolut highly in this category. An estimated 57% of Brits have or plan to open a digital-only banking account, with the strongest pull being the higher interest rates. Sam Richardson, deputy editor at Which?, said: ‘The milestone of more than 6,000 bank closures in just nine years underscores the seismic shift that has taken place in terms of our banking habits and the character of the British high street.’ Lloyds, Halifax and the Bank of Scotland are also changing their opening times at many branches which are not closing down. From September 25, all branches will open from 9.30am rather than 9am, and all shut around an hour earlier, between 3.30pm and 4.30pm. Most will also open at 10am on Wednesdays instead. Not every bank is closing branches, however. HSBC pledged last year that it would not announce any closures until at least 2026. Nationwide went a step further and promised not to close any branches until at least 2028. On its website, it said: ‘We know that our customers still value speaking face-to-face, that’s why we have the UK’s biggest branch network with more branches than any other banking brand.’ Metro Bank and Barclays have also confirmed to Metro that there will be no closures this year. Here is the list of branch closures coming up: Lloyds closures Some 17 branches of Lloyds Bank are set to shut for good in November (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images) Lloyds has said that decisions to pull down the shutters on banks take into account how it will ‘impact customers’. Many of its branches are set to close this month: Coventry (Foleshill), November 4 Dunstable, November 4 Feltham, November 4 Plymstock, November 4 Biggleswade, November 5 Hexham, November 5 Manchester (Newton Heath), November 5 Bristol Bishopsworth (Church Road), November 6 Blandford Forum, November 10 Chard, November 11 Sheffield (Woodhouse), November 11 Shipston-on-Stour, November 11 Debden, November 12 East Grinstead, November 12 Loughton, November 12 Ferndown, November 17 Pontardawe, November 20 Closures that have already taken place this year are as follows: Bury, October 21 Hornchurch, September 11 Kidderminster, October 16 Leeds (Armley), September 22 London (Tooting), October 8 London (Walthamstow), October 22 Monmouth, September 12 Southall, October 15 Stoke-on-Trent (Trent), October 10 Thetford, September 12 More bank closures are to come, however: Briggs, March 3, 2026 Catheram, March 5, 2026 Falmouth, March 5, 2026 Glossop, March 9, 2026 Houghton-le-Spring, March 10, 2026 Hucknall, March 4, 2026 Leominster, March 3, 2026 Peterlee Yoden Way, March 3, 2026 Seaton, March 11, 2026 Sleaford, March 12, 2026 Thornbury Avon, February 26, 2026 Tunstall, March 9, 2026 Wymondham, March 12, 2026 NatWest closures By the end of the year, NatWest will have closed more than 50 stores in 2025 (Picture: AFP or licensors) At least 53 NatWest branches have been or will be closing down for good across the UK in 2025. Some branches do not have a closure date set – NatWest says they will stay open until a banking hub is opened or renovation has been completed. NatWest told Metro that more than 80% of its current account holders use digital services, and over 97% of retail accounts are opened online. The bank has several closures coming up: Garstang, November 10 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, TBC Cromer, TBC Evesham, TBC Launceston, TBC Portishead, TBC Torquay, TBC But many branches have already shut their doors this year: Abingdon, September 24 Birmingham (Acocks Green), September 16 Birmingham (Edgbaston), September 11 Birmingham (Shirley), October 1 Birmingham (Smethwick), September 25 Bicester, September 30 Bridgwater, October 27 Bridport, October 29 Bristol (Fishponds), September 4 Cardiff (Canton), September 16 Cardiff (Llanishen), September 11 Chippenham, October 15 Cirencester, September 17 Cwmbran, September 1 Dorchester, October 22 Ely, September 10 Halesowen, September 3 Hinckley, September 17 Honiton, October 21 Luton (Leagrave), September 15 Leicester (Melton Road), September 2 Leicester (Oadby), September 10 Leighton Buzzard, October 28 Llangefni, September 4 Lowestoft, October 15 Melton Mowbray, September 29 Midsomer Norton, October 8 Mold, October 21 Neath, October 13 Newmarket (Suffolk), September 24 Northampton (Weston Favell Shopping Centre), September 15 Paignton, October 2 Rayleigh, September 2 Redditch, October 14 Ringwood, October 1 Romsey, October 13 Leamington Spa, October 1 Stevenage, October 7 Stratford-upon-Avon, October 8 Sudbury, September 30 Trowbridge, October 16 Wellingborough, October 7 Wickford, September 18 Willerby, September 22 Wisbech, September 1 Yate, September 25 Santander closures Santander is one of the largest banks in the world and has 178million customers across the globe (Picture: In Pictures via Getty Images) Santander had closed dozens of banks over the summer and still has with 19 more set to shut their doors. But the banking giant has confirmed the closure date of just one, Santander said in June. Most closures were chalked up to increasing use of mobile and online banking, while other closure memos said customers use other local branches instead. Surrey Quays, November 10 Bexhill, TBC Billericay, TBC Droitwich, TBC Dunstable, TBC East Grinstead, TBC Holyhead, TBC Ilkley, TBC Lytham St Annes, TBC Maldon, TBC Morley, TBC North Walsham, TBC Redcar, TBC Saffron Walden, TBC Turriff, TBC Uckfield, TBC Urmston, TBC On the closures, a spokesperson for Santander UK said: ‘As a business, we must move with customers and balance our investment across all the places where we interact with customers, to deliver the very best for them now and in the future.’ ‘Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers,’ the statement added. The hours of the following branches also had their hours reduced since the change made on June 30: Bury St Edmunds Cirencester Cricklewood Great Yarmouth Petersfield Wellingborough West Bridgford Halifax closures Halifax has already shut at least 30 branches in the last couple of months (Picture: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) Decreasing in-person banking has also hit Halifax, which is itself a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Branches of Halifax set to shut soon are as follows: Wickford, November 10 Hexham, November 11 Bolton, November 25 Many closures have already taken place so far this year: Barrow-in-Furness, September 10 Bexleyheath, October 23 Blackpool (Lytham Road), October 29 Brentwood, September 10 Bristol (Kingswood), October 8 Carmarthen, October 6 Castleford, September 8 Cirencester, September 25 Crewe, October 14 Derby, October 23 Eltham, October 29 Epsom, September 15 Erdington, September 24 Folkestone, October 9 Hayes (Hillingdon), October 6 Hove, October 20 London (Clapham Junction), September 23 London (Woolwich), October 1 Long Eaton, September 18 Mold, October 16 Monmouth, September 30 Morecambe, September 29 Northwich, September 3 Rhyl, September 23 Richmond (Surrey), September 16 Sittingbourne, October 15 Skegness, September 3 Southport, October 7 Stevenage, October 23 Stretford, October 15 Telford, October 22 Thetford, October 1 Walkden, September 25 Wallasey, September 4 But even more Halifax branches have been earmarked for closure next year: Birmingham (Beardwood), March 2, 2026 Lytham Road, February 24, 2026 Nelson, March 4, 2026 Peterlee, March 3, 2026 Sleaford 114, March 12, 2026 Bank of Scotland closures Bank of Scotland is based in Edinburgh and is a subsidiary of Lloyds (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images) November closures for Bank of Scotland are as follows: Thornhill, November 3 Moffat, November 19 The bank has already closed several other branches recently: Edinburgh (Corstorphine), October 29 Callander, October 30 Pitlochry, October 30 Like with the other banks, Bank of Scotland have said several other branches will close next year: Alexandria, March 3 Annan, March 2 Bishopbriggs, March 4 Bellshill, January 12 Castle Douglas, January 22 Dingwall, March 25 Erskine, January 13 Gairloch, January 15 Glasgow Anniesland, January 12 Helensburgh, March 5 Largs, March 25 Larkhall, January 8 Nairn, January 20 St Andrews, January 20 Tain, January 12 This article was first published on July 26, 2025 Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.