- Some 6,000 bank branches have vanished from high streets since 2015
- Hubs allow customers from many different banks to use services
- Conservatives delivered 50 banking hubs since January 2022
More towns in Britain are set to receive a banking hub under a Labour government.
It has pledged to roll out 350 banking hubs in towns and villages across Britain over the next five years.
The hubs are shared centres where customers of most major banks can go to withdraw and deposit cash and get banking support and advice.
They were created in response to widespread branch closures, with 6,000 bank branches having shut their doors since 2015.
They are funded by banks, set up by the non-profit company Cash Access UK, and operated by the Post Office.
Banking hubs already exist under the Conservatives. There have been 56 banking hubs opened since January 2022, Cash Access UK confirmed, with a further 76 in the works.
Banking hubs can only only be opened in communities where all banks (as well as building society Nationwide) have shut their branches, such as Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire which received a banking hub as part of a pilot in April 2021.
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Even then, hubs can only be approved if it is deemed that there will be sufficient demand for services.
Customers can request one in their town via the access to cash service, Link.
Some towns have seen their application for a banking hub denied though, including Todmorden in West Yorkshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire.
Labour has proposed to update the qualifying criteria to ensure bankless towns and underserved communities will be able to access face-to-face banking services.
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It has also announced it will give Link and the Financial Conduct Authority the powers they need to identify areas that need a banking hub, to speed up the roll-out.
Areas that currently don’t have any high street banks will be first in the queue, Cash Access UK said.
The Post Office is well on its way to being the UK’s largest banking network – with more than 11,500 branches. It began to offer banking services in 2017.
Its latest accounts reveal that it made revenues of £263million from banking in 2023, up from £230million in 2022.
Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor of the exchequer, said: ‘After 14 years of the Tories, many of our high streets have been reduced to ghost towns.
‘Labour’s plan for growth means bringing banking back to high streets, with hundreds of new banking hubs that can support local communities and their businesses.’
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader and shadow housing secretary, added: ‘Labour is the party on the side of small businesses. With our plan to bring banking back to the high street, replace business rates and cut energy bills for good, we will breathe new life back into Britain’s high streets.’
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