Call For ‘Banking Hub’ As Another Bank Closes Its Doors For Good In Market Harborough

There are calls for a ‘banking hub’ to be created in Market Harborough as the town loses another bank today.

HSBC is closing the doors of its branch on High Street for the final time, blaming the decision on more customers using on-line services.

Pic: Google

It is the second of three bank closures in the town centre this year, all for the same reason – Natwest shut its base in January and Barclays will close its branch at the end of July.

Age UK is warning many older or vulnerable people are struggling with online banking and its research has found four in 10 older people with a bank account in Britain – equivalent to more than four million people – are not managing their money online and could be at risk of financial exclusion.

The charity is calling for more ‘banking hubs,’ where customers of different banks can still receive in-person service, to be opened in locations where banks have closed.

The idea is being backed by Cllr Phil Knowles, leader of Harborough District Council, who spoke to HFM:

HSBC UK managing director of UK distribution Jackie Uhi said: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning.

“Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us. Not only can we do it anywhere at any time of day or night, many more things can be done at the customers’ convenience and don’t rely on a branch visit.

“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so we’ve invested heavily in our ‘post closure’ strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking.”