Rise of online banking leads to closure of 1,000 branches

Across the UK, 1,046 bank branches were shut or were set to close between January 2015 and the end of this month, according to the consumer group.

According to Which?, HSBC cut the most branches, at 321, equating to about a quarter of its network, followed by RBS Group, closing 191 branches, or 10% of its network.

It said Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, had shut 180 branches, or 14% of its network.

The rapid growth of customers going online to do their day-to-day banking is often given as a reason for closing branches.

Which? said it was told by HSBC that the number of visits to branches had fallen on average by 40% in the past five years as customers moved to banking online.

But Which? said that many of those who did not use online banking had poor broadband connections. It said bank branch closures often happened in rural areas with poor broadband speeds.

The Post Office also offers an alternative for customers to access some everyday bank services. But Which? said that while 72% of the people it asked rated their general experience of the Post Office as good or excellent, 41% said they did not realise that it offered banking services.

Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? chief executive officer, said: “Access to the services necessary to make everyday banking possible should be simple and straightforward.

“We’ve seen some good examples of banks acting responsibly and in the interest of local communities when they close branches.