NatWest to close 53 bank branches in 2025 – full list of locations

NatWest is set to close more branches this year as the shift to online banking continues.

The bank, which serves over 19 million customers, will close branches in 53 more locations.

This move is part of a broader trend, with thousands of branches having already being shut in recent years.

Since January 2015, over 6,200 bank and building society branches have closed, according to consumer group Which?. On average, this equates to 53 closures every month.

However, NatWest Group – comprising NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Ulster Bank – has closed 1,428 branches, the most of any UK banking group.

A NatWest spokesperson said: “Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services, and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online.

“Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations, and we’ve been responding to the industry-wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation.

“We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we expect to invest in excess of £20million in our network across the UK in 2025 to improve customer service, enhance the look and feel of our branches, and reduce the environmental impact of our buildings, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and Banking Hubs.”

“Digital banking continues to provide new and inclusive ways of allowing the overwhelming majority of our individual and business customers, including the elderly and vulnerable, to bank with us in ways that they weren’t able to before. But we know that a small number of people are not yet comfortable with it, which is why we are proactively reaching out to support them with this transition, having made over 200,000 calls last year. We also have experts that they can speak to for support and guidance.”

However, the ever-growing list of branch closures has drawn criticism from customers and charities.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “The continuing avalanche of bank branch closures means that by the end of this year, there will be considerably fewer opportunities for face-to-face banking than there were even just a couple of years ago.

“Older people living in rural and semi-rural areas are likely to be the hardest hit, but those in towns and cities are not immune.”

The charity’s research found that more than four million older people with a bank account in Britain are not managing their money online, and so are at high risk of digital exclusion.

Ms Abrahams continued: “Physical spaces – whether a bank or building society branch, Banking Hub, or alternative suitable provision – must continue to exist so people can still carry out face-to-face tasks such as withdrawing and depositing cash, applying for a loan, arranging third party access to their account or starting bereavement proceedings.

“The disappearance of face-to-face banking risks cutting a significant minority of the older population out of an essential service, making it difficult if not impossible for them to manage their money and maintain their independence.”