Santander to shut its Wisbech branch as part of nationwide cull of 'less visited' banks

Santander is to close its bank in Wisbech.

The Spanish bank says that the branch at 39 Market Place will shut on May 2.

The closure is one of 140 across the UK announced by Santander, which it says is a reaction changes 'in how customers are choosing to carry out their banking.'

The bank says the closures will put 1,270 jobs at risk. It has not provided details about the number of staff at its Wisbech branch.

Its closure programme does not include Peterborough.

The move comes as figures from the bank show the number of transactions carried out via Santander branches has fallen by 23 per cent over the past three years, while transactions via digital channels have grown by 99 per cent over the same period.

Santander will retain a nationwide network of 614 branches following the proposed changes and announced plans for a £55 million investment to refurbish 100 branches over the next two years.

The refurbishments will include a range of changes with a focus on personal service, convenience and community engagement.

Susan Allen, head of retail and business banking, said: “The way our customers are choosing to bank with us has changed dramatically in recent years, with more and more customers using online and mobile channels.

"As a result, we have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less visited branches, and those where we have other branches in close proximity.

“We will support customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.

"We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.

“We continue to believe that branches have a vital role to play and we will be refurbishing 100 of our branches over the next two years.

"We are confident that following these changes we will have the right branch network to serve our customers’ changing needs, and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”

Just a few days ago Barclays bank announced it will close its Whittlesey branch in Market Place on May 3 and its Chatteris branch in Park Street on May 10.

Santander to close 140 branches – here’s the full list of banks affected and when they’ll shut

Barclays to close branches in Whittlesey and Chatteris