150 banking hubs now open across UK – is there one near you?

Customers that struggle to do everyday banking due to their local bank branch being far away will be pleased to learn that 150 banking hubs are now open, and that the Post Office will continue to offer basic banking services until 2030.

Major banks and building societies have signed a £1.75 billion contract to continue offering services at Post Office counters for at least the next five years. The current deal was due to expire at the end of this year.

The announcement comes as banks continue to close branches at an alarming rate. For example, Lloyds Banking Group will close almost 300 bank branches in 2025 and 2026, while Santander says it will shut 95 branches across the UK, putting 750 jobs at risk.

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Widespread bank branch closures are leaving many towns and villages with zero – or a declining number of – bank branches, and many customers must travel further to visit a branch, to do things like pay in a cheque, open or close an account, or speak to an adviser about products such as savings or mortgages.

Some customers may be able to use a nearby Post Office for their banking needs, or a banking hub.

There are now 150 banking hubs up and running. At the end of last year, chancellor Rachel Reeves opened the UK’s 100th banking hub in Darwen, Lancashire, which was established following bank branch closures in the town.

Banking hubs give people access to face-to-face everyday banking services, such as withdrawing cash and depositing cheques, and are operated by multiple banking brands.

The Labour government has pledged to open 350 banking hubs by 2029.

More than 6,300 banks and building societies have closed their doors since January 2015, according to consumer group Which?.

We look at how the Post Office’s basic banking service works and who can use it, as well as how banking hubs work and whether there’s one near you.

Which banking services are available at Post Offices?

The Post Office offers everyday banking services to personal and business customers of 30 banks and building societies under something called “The Banking Framework”.

This includes customers of Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest Group and Santander. The framework was created in 2017, and will now run until at least 2030.

The services you can use at a Post Office depends on which bank or building society you are a customer of, but broadly speaking, you can check your balance, deposit cash or cheques and make withdrawals.

The list of what you can’t do includes transferring money between accounts, opening or closing accounts, and registering a lasting power of attorney.

According to Which?, some banks are also scaling back the services available through Post Offices.

For instance, Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds) recently told customers they won’t be able to use personalised paying-in slips at Post Offices from 2 June, while cheques will not be accepted after 31 December 2025.

How do banking hubs work?

Banking hubs are owned by Cash Access UK and operated by the Post Office. They are open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, and give people access to face-to-face banking services, such as withdrawing cash and depositing cheques. Customers can also check their balance, pay utility bills and top up their gas and electricity.

Community bankers from each of the five banks with the largest number of customers in the area typically come in one day a week to assist their customers with more complex banking issues like debt advice, bereavement services and fraud support.

At the new banking hub in Kirkham, Lancashire, which is the 150th to be opened, the schedule is: Lloyds on Monday, NatWest on Tuesday, HSBC and Barclays sharing Wednesday, Santander on Thursday and Halifax on Friday.

The Treasury said last year that “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”.

A total of 230 hubs are expected to be open by the end of 2025.

Is there a banking hub near you?

Here’s a list of banking hubs across the UK:

London and home counties

Acton, London

Ampthill, Bedfordshire

Haslemere, Surrey

Luton - Bury Park, Bedfordshire

Rochford, Essex

Royston, Hertfordshire

Ware, Hertfordshire

Welling, Kent

West Drayton, Greater London

Midlands and east of England

Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire

Belper, Derbyshire

Buckingham, Buckinghamshire

Clay Cross, Derbyshire

Downham Market, Norfolk

Harleston, Norfolk

Haverhill, Suffolk

Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire

Lutterworth, Leicestershire

Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire

Oakham, Rutland

Pershore, Worcestershire

Shirebrook, Derbyshire

Stapleford, Nottinghamshire

Syston, Leicestershire

Watton, Norfolk

North England

Barnoldswick, Lancashire

Batley, West Yorkshire

Bramhall, Lancashire

Cheadle, Staffordshire

Cottingham, East Yorkshire

Elland, West Yorkshire

Filey, North Yorkshire

Heywood, Greater Manchester

Hornsea, East Yorkshire

Horwich, Lancashire

Knaresborough, North Yorkshire

Maryport, Cumbria

Newton Aycliffe, County Durham

Ossett, West Yorkshire

Otley, West Yorkshire

Prescot, Merseyside

Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester

Stalybridge, Greater Manchester

Stone, Staffordshire

Thorne, South Yorkshire

Ulverston, Cumbria

Wath upon Dearne, South Yorkshire

West Kirby, Merseyside

Withernsea, East Yorkshire

South and west of England

Axminster, Devon

Bodmin, Cornwall

Brixham, Devon

Dartmouth, Devon

Dawlish, Devon

Helston, Cornwall

Looe, Cornwall

Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire

Saltash, Cornwall

Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex

Sidmouth, Devon

Teignmouth, Devon

Wellington, Somerset

Northern Ireland

Kilkeel

Scotland

Brechin

Cambuslang

Carluke

Carnoustie

Crieff

Cumnock

Girvan

Forres

Jedburgh

Kilwinning

Kirkcudbright

Troon (Ayrshire)

Wales

Abergele

Abertillery

Porthcawl

Prestatyn

Treorchy

Welshpool