Link, the ATM network, is to launch 15 new banking hubs, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced. This is in addition to the 14 locations already announced in July, in a bid to tackle increasing branch closures.
The move comes as the FCA’s new rule to improve access to cash in communities kicks in today (18 September). The rule requires high-street banks to review whether their branch closures are leaving customers with limited access to cash, and to fill the void.
More than 6,000 banks and building societies have closed their doors since January 2015, according to consumer group Which?. Customers who need face-to-face service are having to travel further to another branch or use an alternative service as a result.
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The closures include major players – the latest being Lloyds Banking Group which will hit almost 300 branch closures in 2025. HSBC, Lloyds and TSB branches are also disappearing from the high street as they move towards digital banking. The Labour party has pledged to open at least 350 banking hubs, recognising the need for banking to be widely available on the high street again.
The arrival of banking hubs means you can still stick with your provider and use your bank’s services in person. We saw banking hubs open up in the summer of 2023 and there are now around 81 in the UK.
Sheldon Mills, executive director for consumers and competition at the FCA said: “3.1 million adults still use cash for everyday payments. The new rules are intended to ensure that individuals and businesses who rely on cash can continue to access it.”
While you have the option to switch bank accounts to a provider that has a branch near you, there is no guarantee its branch will remain open in the future.
Find out if one of the 15 is opening near you, and if you’re eligible to use a banking hub.
Where will the new banking hubs open?
The 15 new banking hubs, operated by the Post Office, will open next year in the following locations. They will be free to use.
| New banking hub locations |
|---|
| Sidcup, London |
| Normanton, West Yorkshire |
| Hailsham, East Sussex |
| Frome, Somerset |
| Sheerness, Kent |
| Rugeley, Staffordshire |
| Newquay, Cornwall |
| Market Harborough, Leicestershire |
| Thetford, Norfolk |
| Harpenden, Hertfordshire |
| Yeadon, West Yorkshire |
| Morecambe, Lancashire |
| Monmouth, Wales |
| Huntly, Aberdeenshire |
| Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear |
These will open in addition to the 14 new banking hub locations announced in July.
| Banking hubs locations |
|---|
| Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland |
| Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland |
| Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland |
| Newton Stewart, Dumfries, Scotland |
| Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland |
| Wick, Highland, Scotland |
| Littlehampton, Sussex, England |
| Alcester, Warwickshire, England |
| Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England |
| Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Spennymoor, County Durham, England |
| Stanley, County Durham, England |
| Warwick, Warwickshire, England |
| Woodbridge, Suffolk, England |
You can check if one of the hubs that are already scattered around the UK is near you on the Cash Access website.
Link has also announced nine deposit service sites to open in a year. Deposit services allow customers and small businesses to deposit cash in their bank account.
These are the deposit service locations.
| Deposit services |
|---|
| North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland |
| Blyth, Northumberland, England |
| Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, Wales |
| Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England |
| Liskeard, Cornwall, England |
| St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England |
| Wadebridge, Cornwall, England |
How do banking hubs work?
Customers from various banks can access services in a banking hub, but it’s not open to everyone. The services include withdrawing or cashing in money, making bill payments or speaking to an adviser.
To use a banking hub, you need to be banking with one of the following providers:
- Barclays
- HSBC
- Lloyds Bank
- NatWest
- Santander
- TSB
- Virgin Money
- Bank of Ireland UK
- Danske Bank
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