Major bank confirms Melton branch is to close later this year as more customers are using digital banking

A major High Street bank has confirmed they are closing their Melton Mowbray branch later this year as more customers use digital banking rather than going in branch.

Natwest has confirmed that their branch in High Street will close on 29th September this year as over 80% of their current customers use digital banking.

A NatWest spokesperson commented,  ‘Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online. Our customers appreciate the speed and convenience of digital banking for everyday transactions, and often, when it comes to making bigger, more complex decisions they value speaking to our skilled and experienced colleagues.

Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations and we’ve been responding to the industry wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation. While we are increasingly engaging our customers digitally, our branch network remains important to us.

We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we expect to invest over £20m in our network across the UK in 2025 to improve customer service, enhance the look and feel of our branches, and reduce the environmental impact of our buildings, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and Banking Hubs. We will also provide temporary support for transitions to our new network in selected locations through our 12-week Community Pop-Ups.

More customrs are using digital banking which is being blamed for the closure. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/NatWest Group

As we adapt our services to meet changing needs we may take the difficult decision to close or consolidate some of our branches. While we know that this is disappointing, we have carefully considered how best to invest to make sure we have a sustainable network for the future. We consider each branch individually and review a wide range of factors, including but not limited to, impact on customers, the level of financial vulnerability in the area, the nearest available branch, Banking Hub, Post Office and free ATMs and regular transport links.

We’re committed to ensuring the transition of UK banking services on to digital platforms is managed compassionately and we recognise that some people still need help to adapt, particularly our vulnerable customers. We are also committed to supporting our elderly customers, with almost half of over 70s with active current accounts now accessing digital banking.

Our Customer Support Specialists proactively contact branch users who we know may need additional support when a branch closes and where there’s a need we install Community Pop-Ups to help customers become familiar with alternative banking services.

Digital banking continues to provide new and inclusive ways of allowing the overwhelming majority of our individual and business customers, including the elderly and vulnerable, to bank with us in ways that they weren’t able to before.  But we know that a small number of people are not yet comfortable with it, which is why we are proactively reaching out to support them with this transition, having made over 200,000 calls last year. We also have experts that they can speak to for support and guidance."

Natwest say they will be introducing a community pop up site following the closure for up to 12 weeks.