Why Santander is closing 44 bank branches in the UK – and opening up cafés instead
Spanish banking group Santander has announced plans to close 44 branches in the UK as it continues to transform its branch network in response to changing customer behaviour.
The closed branches will be replaced by Community Bankers, operating either from a Santander Local or, where required, a Banking Hub, to provide ongoing face-to-face support for communities, the bank said in an accompanying statement on Thursday (29 January).
Following the changes, the Santander branch network will consist of 305 branches including 244 full-service branches, 19 counter-free branches, 36 reduced-hour branches, and six Work Cafés, alongside 111 Santander Locals.
Approximately 291 workers would be placed at risk of redundancy if the proposals proceed after consultation with the unions has been completed. However, there will be a number of redeployment opportunities that impacted colleagues can apply for, the bank said.
“In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches to better support our customers,” a spokesperson said.
“We will continue to invest in both our branch network – comprising of full-service branches, counter-free branches, reduced-hour branches, Santander Locals, and our increasingly popular Work Cafés – as well as our digital banking services, so we can be there to support our customers however they choose to bank with us.”
The rise of the banking café
Despite the closure of the bank branches, Santander has made it clear that it’s not giving up on physical spaces entirely.
Following the successful opening of its Oxford Work Café last month – the largest to date at 1,000m2 – the group said it will continue to invest in more Work Cafés across the UK, with plans to open additional sites later this year.
“The Work Café concept, which Santander is rolling out globally, provides a distinctive banking experience for local communities and businesses. The vibrant hubs host hundreds of events each year, from money management drop ins to SME networking sessions, and events specifically tailored to support local people and businesses.
“Along with accessing traditional banking services, customers and non-customers alike can also benefit from the co-working space, superfast WiFi, and dedicated event space – all for free,” it said.
Santander said it has seen a rapid increase in customers choosing to do their banking digitally, with 96% of all transactions now being completed in digital channels1. Since 2019, there has been a 64% rise in digital transactions, while financial transactions completed in branches reduced by 66% in the same period.
Over the last year alone, there has been a 13% decrease in the volume of financial transactions taking place in branch.2
In addition, since 2019, the bank has seen:
- 83% of current accounts opened digitally
- 67% increase in mobile banking users
- 109% increase in mobile banking app transactions
- 70% increase in mobile logins
