Barclays has revealed 22 further branch closures, taking the total due to close this year to 90, and the total due to shut in 2025 to six.
There are also seven branches earmarked to close but do not yet have a closing date, including Harleston in England, Risca and Treorchy - both in Wales.
Banks have been closing at a rapid pace in recent years, and new Which? research highlights nearly three million people will live in a parliamentary constituency without a physical bank branch by the end of this year.
Here, Which? takes a closer look at which sites are closing and what measures are in place to protect cash access, including a new lawthat came into force last year.
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Which Barclays branches are closing in 2024?
The table below shows the locations of all branches due to close in 2024. You can use the search bar to see if your local branch is affected:
Which branches will close in 2025?
The table below shows the locations of all those due to close in 2025. You can use the search bar to see if your local branch is affected:
Why are these branches closing?
Barclays said as branch visits continue to fall, it needs to adapt to provide the best support for customers.
A spokesman said: 'Where there is no longer enough demand to support a branch, we maintain an in-person presence through our Barclays Local network, live in over 300 locations, based in libraries, town halls, mobile vans and our banking pods.
'We also support access to cash with our cashback without purchase service, 24-hour deposit-taking ATMs and by working alongside the Post Office and Cash Access UK.'
Here are the initiatives launched by Barclays to replace its physical branches that will be closing.
Barclays Local
Under this scheme, the bank works with local councils and communities to arrange a presence in places such as town halls and libraries, offering in-person banking support.
It has more than 300 locations and provides face-to-face assistance and offers free digital skills workshops and fraud awareness events.
Barclays opened 128 new Barclays Local sites in 2023 – it also has 16 mobile banking vans, including seven electric vans, that visit rural and remote locations.
Enhanced ATM services
Barclays has rolled out 130 deposit-taking ATMs open 24/7 and offers a cash collection service for SMEs.
Cashback without purchase
Barclays also offers its own cashback without purchase scheme, which allows businesses with a Barclaycard Payments terminal to offer customers from any bank up to £100 per day without needing to make a purchase.
Unlike ATMs, you can also receive coins. Participating businesses should have a 'cashback without purchase' sticker displayed in the window, so keep a lookout.
- Find out more:best banks
Which other banks are closing branches in 2024?
Barclays isn't the only bank to announce closures this year. Almost all major high-street banks have sites earmarked for closure, and more could follow.
- Lloyds Banking Group has 123 due to close in 2024.
- NatWest Group (including Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank) has 32 scheduled to close in 2024.
- Danske Bank - 4 sites
What happened to bank branches in 2023?
Here's a round-up of how many branches closed last year across the major brands.
- Lloyds Banking Group closed 153 sites in 2023
- NatWest Group (including Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank) - 142 sites
- HSBC - 114 sites
- Virgin Money- 40 branches
- TSB - nine sites
- Santander - five sites
- Nationwide - two sites
To find out whether your local branch is closing or has recently closed, our bank branch closure checker tool shows those shutting down in your local authority area.
- Find out more: is your local bank branch closing?
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Why cash still matters
Cash is the second-most frequently used method of payment in the UK. Used by 5.4 million adults, it also provides a lifeline for vulnerable groups.
Research by Which? has found that cash can be a useful budgeting tool for households during the cost of living crisis and people in remote areas may not have reliable broadband or mobile connectivity for digital payments.
It's also a vital lifeline for the elderly, who are more likely to visit bank branches in person.
What's being done to protect access to cash?
Here are some of the cash solutions that have been announced or put in place since our campaign began:
New law to protect access to cash
Banks and building societies will have to plug gaps in local cash provision under new rules proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Legislation that came into force in June 2023 gave the watchdog new powers to ensure people could conveniently withdraw and deposit cash following the rapid rate of bank and ATM closures.
The FCA said its new rules will not prevent bank branches from closing but will help ‘manage the pace of change’ and mean that any location set to lose a bank or other cash access point (such as an ATM) must have alternative provisions in place before it shuts.
- Find out more:Financial Conduct Authority sets out new rules to protect access to cash
Reviews by Link to commission new cash services
In December 2021, the Cash Action Group (CAG) announced that any community facing the closure of a core cash service, such as a bank branch or ATM, will trigger an independent review by Link.
Link will determine whether a new solution should be provided. It will have the power to commission services, such as a shared banking hub or better Post Office services, to meet the cash needs of the community as a whole – not just the customers of one bank or building society.
Out of the latest closures, a new banking hub in Willesden Green and a deposit service in St Neots has been recommended by Link.
- Find out more:are access to cash solutions enough?
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Post Office services
Since January 2020, customers of certain banks have been able to use Post Office branches to withdraw and deposit cash in their accounts and make balance queries. Most banks will also allow you to deposit cheques.
This service, described as a 'lifeline' by the Post Office, means that people can still access essential services, even if their local bank branch has shut.
The service will run until December 2025, after a new agreement was signed with 30 banks in February 2022.
- Find out more: Post Office will offer banking services for 30 banks.
Cashback without purchase
This initiative allows people to request cashback at the till in their local convenience store, without needing to make a purchase or pay a fee. It became possible last summer after a change in legislation.
A commercial scheme, operated by Link, was rolled out at the end of 2021 and is available in 2,000 stores.
You can find out where this service is on offer by using Link's cash locator on its website or mobile app. Just type in your location and search for the orange symbols which state 'CT'.
- Find out more:cashback without purchase expands.
This article was first published on 30 May 2022 and has been updated since then. It was last updated on 13 February to reflect the latest closures for 2024 and 2025.
