Barclays bank is cutting opening hours across most of its branches this summer in a bid to 'reduce confusion' for customers.
From August 7, the bank will be open from 9.30am until 3pm at the majority of locations and 9.30am-1pm on Saturdays, with a Barclays spokesperson saying “Our new midweek opening hours will bring consistency to branches across the UK, reducing confusion and ensuring we are open during the times customers visit most."
According to Barclays, 96% of personal customers and 97% of business and corporate clients only visit branches before 3pm, whereas at present most places close between 2.30pm and 5.30pm during the week. The changes will mean that counters will be open until the branch closes instead of the current arrangement, when some counters shut at 2pm and others close an hour before the bank shuts its doors. A small number of sites won’t see any changes to opening times due to lease agreements. You can check the opening times of your local branch on the Barclays website..
Read more: What are your banking options if your local branch is closing?
It comes as Barclays plans to shut at least 122 of its bank branches this year – a quarter of its entire UK network – after announcing a fresh wave of 12 more closures. Branches in Prudhoe and Haltwhistle will close in August, after Alnwick, Seahouses and Washington shut up shop in July. Stanhope's Barclays closed last month.
The exact closure date are:
- 20 Bondgate Within, Alnwick, NE66 1TF - July 7, 2023
- 1 Seafield Road, Seahouses, NE68 7SJ - July 14, 2023
Unit H, The Galleries, Washington, NE38 7SH - July 21, 2023
74 Front Street, Prudhoe, NE42 5PU - August 8, 2023
Westgate, Haltwhistle, NE49 9AG - August 18. 2023
The planned closures will bring the amount of Barclays branches in the North East to just a handful, mostly in the region's bigger towns and city centres.
Speaking of the reduced opening hours, a Barclays spokesperson said: "These changes also include aligning our counter service to opening hours midweek, so our counter is open until the branch closes. Customers, including SMEs, can continue to bank outside these hours across a range of channels including the Barclays app, our telephony service and via video banking appointments.”
MP Sharon Hodgson has spoken of her concern that Washington's branch of Barclay in The Galleries shopping centre is closing in July, saying she had been contacted by many constituents who relied on the branch and were worried how they will manage to do their banking.
Ms Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, said "While digital poverty remains an issue for a lot of people, I feel the closure of the branch in The Galleries is the wrong decision by Barclays. "They have proposed alternative services in the community, but I am concerned that Barclays' customers in my constituency will lack the appropriate support for those who do not have access to digital banking, and for our residents who require face-to-face support for more complex issues that require an appointment."
Read more:
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- Full list of all banks closing in the North East this year
- Full list of Lloyds Pharmacies at risk of closure including Newcastle, Sunderland and County Durham
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