- Author, Sarah Turnnidge
- Role, BBC News, West of England
A banking hub is set to offer new services in Westbury more than five years after the town lost its last bank.
Following a request from a resident, LINK – the UK’s cash access and ATM network – has announced that it will be opening the new space next year.
Dr Andrew Murrison, MP for South West Wiltshire, said he was “delighted” to hear that residents would again have access to “traditional services”.
The hub will consist of a counter service operated by Post Office employees, as well as private spaces where staff from different banks will be available on different days.
The last bank in the town – a Lloyds branch – closed its doors in 2019.
While an official opening date has not yet been set for Westbury, LINK said it was likely to open in 12 months’ time.
LINK has so far recommended 121 banking hubs across the UK, including two others in the county in Royal Wootton Basset and Calne.
‘Face to face’
It is working in collaboration with Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, Danske Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money.
Nick Quin, head of financial inclusion at LINK said: “While many people are choosing to bank and pay for things digitally, there are millions of people across the UK who prefer cash and face to face banking.
“If a community believes that it needs additional cash services, they can contact LINK directly and we can assess whether we can recommend new services such as cash machines or banking hubs.”
The counter service will allow customers of any bank to withdraw and deposit cash, pay bills and carry out regular bank transactions.
Dr Murrison said: “It’s essential that people have access to traditional counter services, particularly as not everyone is comfortable with banking online and cashless transactions.”
Cash Access UK, the group now running the delivery of the banking hub, has said it will begin to engage with the community in the coming weeks and start looking for potential sites.
