A town near Bristol which saw all five of its main High Street banks close in the space of five years has brought almost all of them back – with the opening of a new ‘banking hub’ in the centre of town.
Keynsham’s High Street had branches of NatWest, Santander, Barclays, HSBC and TSB banks back in 2017, but one-by-one they all closed, with TSB the last to close in 2023. Now, the town has just the Halifax and Coventry Building Society still open.
But a new hub has opened this week which is aiming to bring all the major banks back – just for one day a week.
It’s located in MakeSpace, a community arts and local business space that was created in 2023 in an empty property on Riverside Square, and has been brought to the town by Cash Access UK, an organisation set up to protect cash which is funded by most of the main banks.
The idea is to provide a bank counter where people can withdraw and deposit cash, deposit cheques, pay utility bills, check their account balance and businesses can collect change from Monday to Friday.
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As well as those basic bank services, each day will see a different community banker service with a representative from a different bank setting up in a private space so people can see a real person from their bank face to face. On Monday, will be a rep from the Halifax, on Tuesday it will be NatWest, Lloyds Bank will be in on Wednesday, HSBC on Thursday and on Fridays someone from Barclays will be there.
The hub is the second to open in a Somerset town – Wellington’s was up and running last year, and more should open soon in Frome, Crewkerne and Nailsea. Keynsham’s was one of 11 banking hubs that opened this week across the country, from Hayle and Redruth in Cornwall to Dunbar in Scotland.
“I’m pleased to announce that the new banking hub in Keynsham is now open in its temporary home at MakeSpace, providing local residents with access to cash and in-person banking services,” said the boss of Cash Access UK, Gareth Oakley. “The hub is available for everyday banking transactions every day of the week, and for more specific or complex enquiries, a community banker will be on-site to assist on designated days,” he added.
With MakeSpace only a ‘meanwhile-use’ in the vacant store, the banking hub’s base there will only be temporary for the time being, but the hope is to eventually find a permanent home for the hub.
“While the hub in Keynsham is up and running today, Cash Access UK can confirm it is currently working to secure a long term home for the banking hub which will offer the same services,” a spokesperson said. “Keynsham was recommended a banking hub following the announcement of the closure of the final bank branch.
“Cash is still important to millions of people in the UK,” a spokesperson said. “Between five and six million adults say they rely on cash in their day-to-day lives. Digital or online solutions don’t yet work for everyone all the time. We’ve found that banking hubs can make a real difference to individuals, small businesses and the communities they live in,” she said.