Whitley Bay to get banking hub after string of bank closures

A North East town is to get the area’s first banking hub after closures of all the main High Street banks were announced within the space of 18 months.

Whitley Bay suffered closures from Barclays, Natwest, Halifax and HSBC last year with the Lloyds Bank set to shut its doors towards the end of 2024. With the closures leaving both individuals and businesses struggling to get access to banking services, the Link network is set to open a banking hub in the town.

The organisation, which runs the UK’s ATM network, is working with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide services at banking hubs that support both personal and business customers.

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Banking hubs are a shared banking space, similar to a traditional bank branch, but available to everyone. The hubs tend to be operated by Post Office employees and allow customers of any bank to withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions. Banks including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money are part of the scheme.

The new hub will be delivered by Cash Access UK, which has begun the process of finding a location and hopes to open the site within a year. There are currently 81 banking hubs up and running in the UK, with the only other one in the North East at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham.

Adrian Roberts, deputy CEO at Link: “We’re pleased to recommend this new hub in Whitley Bay. Access to cash remains vital for millions of people across the country and the new rules that come into force today mean that people will be able to access cash on the high street for many years to come.”

Plans for the hubs were announced as new access to cash rules overseen by the FCA come into force. Under the rules, banks and building societies must assess whether changes to local services, such as closing branches or cash machines, leave local communities lacking ways to take out or pay in cash.

Additionally, residents, businesses, local representatives and charities who feel there is a gap in cash access can request a review. Link said it will be able to recommend banking hubs where there is still one bank or building society branch in town, where it might not meet the needs of businesses and consumers.

Hundreds of bank closures have been announced in recent years as more customers move to online banking. The issue of “banking deserts” in Northumberland was recently raised in Parliament by new Hexham MP Joe Morris, who said that closures present a “toxic cocktail that both damages quality of life and holds back the growth of our rural economy.”