Barclays faces backlash as it announces plans to close yet more branches

Barclays faced a backlash after announcing plans to close even more branches in England and Wales amid the shift to online banking.

The bank said it will close an additional 14 sites this year — on top of the 55 it has already announced for closure in 2023.

UK lenders have closed nearly 5,500 branches since 2015.

Barclays’ move means customers will have to rely on pop-up sites and ‘banking pods’ if they need personalized support.

Bank pods are semi-permanent locations that can be moved to different areas depending on demand. Barclays has about ten and 200 pop-up sites.

“As branch visits continue to decline, we must adapt to provide the best service to all our customers,” said a spokesperson.

“If there is no longer enough demand to support an affiliate, we will continue to have a personal presence through our Barclays Local network, living in more than 200 locations, located in libraries, town halls, mobile vans and our new banking pods.”

Banks and building societies have closed 5,498 branches since January 2015, or about 54 a month, according to data from the consumer site Which?

Barclays has scaled down its network the most, with about 971 sites closing in the past nine years.

Meanwhile, NatWest has closed 741 branches, Lloyds about 642, HSBC 629 and Santander 472. Geographically, the South East has seen the highest number of closures since 2015, with 720 branches closed and another 46 scheduled to close.

Scotland has also been hit hard, with more than half of its 1,040 branches gone.

Closures have been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, as customers were forced to use alternative banking methods during the lockdown.

Last month, the head of HSBC’s UK branch, Ian Stuart, sparked a furious backlash after claiming the bank’s decision to close hundreds of branches was ‘what customers want’.

Stuart told MPs that while the bank was “absolutely committed” to maintaining a physical presence in the UK, he noted that 98 per cent of its December transactions were digital.

Another reason for the decline is the declining number of cash transactions, with many people opting instead for card and contactless payments.

But critics have argued that bank branches are still vital for vulnerable people, the elderly and those in need of personal advice, accusing banks of leaving large swathes of society with little access to basic services.

Bank branch closures not only make access to cash more difficult for the millions of people across the country who depend on it, but also cut off essential in-person banking services, which are especially important for customers who are unwilling or unable to shop online. banking,” said Which? Money editor Jenny Ross.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said the ongoing branch closures are making life ‘very difficult’ for older people who ‘don’t want or can’t bank online’.

“Closing a branch saves a bank money, but it’s not what many older people want or need because they’ve been very happy with face-to-face banking all their lives,” she added.

Ross said programs such as banking pods and hubs, locations where multiple banks offer services, were “a good start” but needed to be rolled out “much faster” to benefit consumers.

There are concerns that the hubs are taking too long to set up, despite the accelerating pace of branch closures. Which? said only two new hubs had opened in Yorkshire by the end of 2022, alongside existing pilot sites in Lanarkshire and Essex. Another 34 are currently in the pipeline, but could be years before they appear.

Ross also expressed concern about cash users being charged to withdraw cash from ATMs and that the government should “re-examine proposals to introduce guaranteed minimum levels of free access to cash.”

Barclays shares rose 2.3 percent, or 3.1 pence, to 137 pence yesterday.