HSBC UK extends commitment to announce no new branch closures until at least 2026

This is an extension of its last commitment, made in 2023, to not announce any new closures in 2024.

The bank has also shared an update on its community investment for 2024, and its commitment to enhancing customer experience across telephony and digital channels.

Banking closer to home

Whilst branch usage has been on the decline, with use of the bank’s branch network by regular customers falling by an average of 65% in the last five years, five million customers have visited a branch so far this year, demonstrating customers still value face-to-face contact for more complex banking enquiries and needs.

HSBC UK is investing more than £50 million in total this year into updating and improving its network of branches, and has upgraded more than 100 branches so far in 2024, with a further 23 refurbishments planned by the end of the year.

Through HSBC Local, HSBC UK has expanded the variety and number of banking touchpoints in local communities across the UK to include community pop-ups, shared banking hubs and cash pods, supporting 68,000 customers with banking needs this year alone.

HSBC UK has hosted more than 1,900 HSBC Local pop-ups so far this year, in convenient locations closer to where people live and work like town halls, hospitals, garden centres libraries and now in some branches of high street retailer WHSmith.

The bank has also committed to growing its presence in Shared Cash Access UK banking hubs to 100 hubs by the end of this year (from 41 currently). The most recent banking hub to open was Kirby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, in late July – which will be accessible to more than 25,000 residents.

Christopher Dean, Head of UK Customer Channels, said: “We are committed to the local communities that we serve and to ensuring our customers have flexible ways to bank whether that be through our digital app, online, telephony or by going into one of our branches and speaking to someone face-to-face. We know that our 327 branches play an important role in serving our customers, which is why we are investing more than £50 million in refurbishing and remodelling works across our network this year.

“Alongside that, we’re continuing to expand our community presence and becoming even closer to the communities we serve, having helped 68,000 customers already this year via pop-ups, cash pods and banking hubs.”

Digitisation and telephony

More than six million HSBC UK customers log into online banking multiple times a week – adding up to more than 1.3 billion log-ins a year.

Over the course of the last year, HSBC UK has invested heavily in digital tools to help customers manage their money, from budget setting to spending insights, as well as introducing features to help customers set and achieve saving and investing goals.
In just the last three months, more than 60,000 customers have set a saving goal, with the most popular categories including saving for a house, a rainy-day fund or a car purchase.

HSBC UK has also invested in improving its telephony channel with a focus on reducing wait times. Customers now have their calls answered in an average of 19 seconds. The bank has also reduced the number of colleagues a typical customer needs to speak to in order to get their query resolved when they call telephone banking.

Christopher Dean added: “We know that the way people bank has changed: use of mobile banking is up by 280% since 2017, and there has been a 250% increase in digital payments in the last five years.

“This is why we are focused on enhancing customer experience across all channels, including telephony and digital. We also recognise the importance of helping people access digital banking and improve their digital capabilities. Alongside working with customers to help develop digital skills, we have also handed out more than 2,400 tablets within local communities for customers to keep.”