Keynsham banking hub is here to stay

KEYNSHAM’S banking hub has found a permanent new home.

A temporary hub was established at MakeSpace – in Riverside Square opposite the leisure centre – after the town’s last bank, the Halifax, closed in May this year.

Now the former Halifax branch at 53 High Street is reopening as a permanent base for the hub.

Although a specific date has not yet been confirmed, the new hub is scheduled to open sometime in November.

Banking hubs are owned by Cash Access UK and operated by the Post Office.

They provide cash and essential banking services such as paying in cash and cheques, withdrawing cash, checking balances, paying utility bills, topping up gas and electricity and accessing change-giving services (for registered businesses).

The hub offers a community banker service, so customers can speak to their own bank about more complicated matters on specific days.

Banks providing services at the hub are Halifax (Monday), NatWest (Tuesday), Lloyds (Wednesday), HSBC (Thursday) and Barclays (Friday).

Cash Access UK says: “The community banker schedule is likely to stay the same, but please check the hub window or the hub’s dedicated webpage nearer the time.”

Banking hubs are not a Post Office. They provide banking services only, so shoppers cannot buy stamps, send a parcel, or do foreign exchange at a banking hub. The nearest Post Office is in the One Stop convenience store directly opposite the new banking hub.

Cash Access UK is a not-for-profit company owned and funded by major banks, including AIB NI, Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, Danske Bank, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money. It has 186 banking hubs and 135 deposit services across the country.

Cash Access UK states: “Cash is still important to millions of people in the UK. Between five and six million adults say they rely on cash in their day-to-day lives.

“Digital or online solutions don’t yet work for everyone all the time. We’ve found that banking hubs can make a real difference to individuals, small businesses and the communities they live in.”