New banking hub opens in Darwen
The 100th centre in the UK will be opened by Chancellor Rachel Reeves later
A new banking hub is being opened in Darwen later, which will be the 100th in the UK.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be carrying out an official unveiling in the town centre after a request for one from the community following a number of bank closures.
A banking hub is a shared space on the high street that can be used by customers of different banks.
Like other hubs, the Darwen branch offers a counter service operated by the Post Office. Customers of major banks can carry out regular cash transactions from Monday to Friday.
It also offers a community banker service where customers can talk to their own bank about more complex issues on the day their bank is in the hub.
Ms Reeves said: "Reaching this milestone of 100 banking hubs is a huge step towards making sure that people across the country have access to essential face-to-face banking services.
"High streets are the beating heart of our communities but were neglected for too long under the previous government.
"We are revitalising our high streets with our target for 350 banking hubs, reforming business rates to make them fairer and clamping down on antisocial behaviour."
The Government has set a target to roll out 350 hubs by 2029, with 230 expected to be open by the end of next year.
ATM and cash access network Link carries out assessments to understand how the closure of a bank branch will affect access to cash for the community.
Communities can also ask to Link to carry out an assessment if they feel they need better access to cash.
Cash Access UK is owned and funded by 10 major banks to provide shared services to their customers.
Gareth Oakley, chief executive for Cash Access UK said: "Thanks to the exceptional industry collaboration from the banks who support us, I'm delighted that in a such short space of time we have been able to successfully open 100 banking hubs as well as deliver 100 deposit services.
"It's been a particularly busy year, this week alone we have officially opened five hubs.
"Our hubs are proving extremely popular, which shows that access to cash and banking services remains vital for millions of individuals across the UK, despite more people choosing to bank and make payments digitally.
"We're delighted to have reached this latest milestone and will continue our work to bring more of these services to the communities that need them most."