Santander to cut opening hours at many Suffolk branches
It's part of a wider shakeup of the business as more customers move online
Last updated 21st Apr 2022
High street bank Santander is to cut opening hours at more than 300 branches across the UK, including many in Suffolk.
The branches in Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds are among those going down to reduced hours from July 18.
Branches will operate from 9.30am to 3pm on weekdays, instead of until 4.30pm.
On Saturdays most will only be open for half of the day, closing at 12:30pm.
A handful of major branches in bigger cities are keeping their current opening hours.
Santander says staff will still be available for pre-booked appointments outside of the normal hours if customers need support.
The cutbacks come as the bank says fewer people are using high street branches, with the number of customers visiting down by a third since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
There will be no closures as part of the move. Richard Owen, head of branches at Santander, said:
"These changes will enable us to maintain our existing branch network while providing significant additional capacity to help customers who want to talk to us by phone.
"We have seen a continuing reduction in branch usage over several years, both before and since the peak of the pandemic, with many customers preferring to transact digitally or contact us by phone.
"We want to make sure we have the right mix of channels to help our customers however they choose to bank with us."
The closure of many high street banks and cashpoints over the past few years has led to calls for the government to step in, to make sure people can still access their money.