HSBC to close 114 branches in the UK

Some of the closing branches serve less than 250 customers a week.

HSBC will be closing 114 branches in its UK branch network beginning April 2023, citing a decline in branch footfall coupled with rise in online banking use.

In a press release, HSBC noted that its UK customers’ use of its branch network fell by 65%, with footfall in a vast majority of closing branching having been reduced by at least 50%. 

The decline was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of the branches that are to be closed now serve fewer than 250 customers per week, HSBC said.

“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so we’ve invested heavily in our ‘post closure’ strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking,” said Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s managing director of UK distribution.

Uhi further noted how banking remotely has become the norm for the vast majority of its UK customers. 

Over nine in ten or 97.5% of its transactions are now completed digitally, according to HSBC. Usage of the bank’s mobile app as well as the number of digital payments made have also tripled since 2017.

Notably, 99% of all its reported personal loans, and 98% of its credit cards issued, are now taken digitally, HSBC shared.