Chancellor opens 100th banking hub in time for Christmas

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, and Economic Secretary, Tulip Siddiq, will today open the UK's 100th banking hub in Darwen, Lancashire, which has been set up in response to bank branch closures in the town.   

The newly opened banking hub will give customers of the largest high street banks the ability to get cash out, deposit cheques and ensures that local residents have access to face to face banking services.   

Kickstarting economic growth is the number one mission for this Government – something cemented in the Plan for Change launched last week, where the Prime Minister redoubled our commitment to raise living standards in every part of the United Kingdom. The roll out of banking hubs will be a significant boost for local people and businesses, helping to revitalise the local high street and raise living standards across the UK. 

The opening of the 100th banking hub is a significant landmark on the road to delivering on the government's manifesto commitment to work with industry to open 350 banking hubs by the end of this parliament.  

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:  

"Reaching this milestone of 100 banking hubs is a huge step towards making sure that people across the country have access to essential face-to-face banking services.   

"High streets are the beating heart of our communities but were neglected for too long under the previous government. We are revitalising our high streets with our target for 350 banking hubs, reforming business rates to make them fairer and clamping down on antisocial behaviour." 

Banking hubs are a collaborative industry initiative, set up in response to bank branch closures on high streets across the country. 

Instead of one bank owning a branch, the responsibility is shared between the banks. This means that they can share the running costs and all operate in one convenient location.  

All customers will benefit from Monday-Friday access to cash and basic banking services via a traditional counter service operated by the Post Office. Community bankers from each of the five banks with the largest number of customers in the area will also come in one day per week to assist their customers with more complex banking issues like debt advice, bereavement services and fraud support.   

In the Darwen banking hub, the participating banks are NatWest, Santander, Lloyds, Halifax and Barclays, the banks with the most customers in that location. Opening the banking hub will protect access to cash and banking services for 10,000 local residents and 150 shops within 1 kilometre of Darwen town centre.   

The 100th opening is a significant milestone. In September, Economic Secretary secured a historic agreement from industry to deliver on this commitment, with 230 hubs expected to be open by the end of next year, helping to revitalise towns and high streets up and down the country.  

Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, added:  

"We are delighted to see the continued growth of banking hubs, which are playing an essential role in meeting the needs of communities where traditional banking options have declined.   

“These hubs are not only vital for residents and businesses, but they also play a key role in revitalising our high streets, bringing footfall back to town centres, and repurposing unused buildings for community benefit. 

“The success of these hubs proves that shared banking services can provide a solution that benefits everyone, from residents to local businesses."  

The opening of banking hubs can play an important role in revitalising our high street and repurposing disused buildings in town centres all while providing a vital service to businesses and people in those communities.  

Evidence from Brixham in Devon and Rochford in Essex  where banking hubs have recently opened has backed this up, research from Cash Access UK the group that run banking hubs shows that  almost half of businesses surveyed saying it has increased footfall in the town and 30% of residents saying that they visit the town more regularly and stay for longer because a banking hub has opened in the town.     

Gareth Oakley, CEO, Cash Access UK, said:  

"Access to cash and face-to-face banking services remain vital to millions of people and businesses who rely on it.  

“We're delighted that banking hubs, alongside deposit services are proving to be successful and are making a real difference to communities and high streets up and down the country." 

Notes to editors

• A list of all open and proposed banking hubs can be found here. 
• The table below shows the distribution of banking hubs by region. This does not include bank or building society branches or other in-person banking service providers, such as Post Offices and community pop-ups.