More than 100 bank branches are expected to shut down in 2026 as major banks continue their trend of moving away from physical locations on the high street.
In the current year, closure dates have been confirmed for 73 branches of leading banks such as Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland. An additional 29 branches have announced closure plans but have not yet determined the final dates, bringing the total number of anticipated closures to 102. Lloyds is at the forefront with 40 branches nearing closure or awaiting finalization of their shutdown dates.
Santander, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, and NatWest are also set to close 18, 17, 15, and 7 branches respectively. The decision to close branches was largely influenced by the shift in customer behavior towards digital banking services over traditional in-person banking.
By the end of this month, 35 branches will have ceased operations, with two more closures scheduled for February and an additional 23 in March. The remaining closures are planned for July and October or are pending finalization. Cornwall has been significantly impacted by the bank closures, with four closures confirmed and two more without set closure dates for this year.
In the past years, there were 13 closures in 2025, six in 2024, 14 in 2023, and six in 2022, totaling 45 branch closures. Scotland’s Highland council area is also expected to lose six banks this year, including two without announced closure dates.
Scotland is anticipated to lose 20 banks, while Wales and Northern Ireland will see closures of five and one bank respectively. Among the 76 remaining closures in England, the South East and South West regions are most affected, each facing the closure of 17 bank branches.
Since February 2022, major banking groups have been committed to a voluntary agreement to evaluate the impact of each closure. As a result, a total of 2,065 branches have either closed or announced closure plans, averaging at least one closure per day or eight closures per week.
The LINK initiative was established to oversee each closure and ensure that vulnerable customers and small businesses are not left without access to cashless payments and virtual banking services. In cases where communities are left without a local bank, banking hubs or free ATMs are established to bridge the gap.
Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at LINK, highlighted the increasing preference for digital banking and payments, emphasizing the importance of maintaining cash infrastructure for those who still rely on it. Gareth Oakley, CEO of Cash Access UK, noted the changing banking landscape and the rise of banking hubs to cater to customers needing cash and face-to-face services.
The opening of more than 200 banking hubs, including 100 in 2025 alone, indicates a positive trend in providing accessible cash services to customers of major banks in a single location. These hubs, along with new cash solutions, aim to facilitate easy access and deposit of cash for businesses and consumers needing such services.