Barclays is among the various high street banks and building societies preparing to close branches across the UK in 2025. This comes amid widespread concern over Britons’ access to cash services.
Bank branch closures have become the norm in recent years with consumer champions Which? highlighting that 6,000 locations have shut down for good since 2015. The trend looks set to continue in the New Year.
Last year, Barclays reaffirmed plans to close 99 of its high street sites over the course of 2024 and 2025. This comes after slashing its in-person branch portfolio by 177 in 2023.
For those impacted by the bank’s looming round of closures, Barclays does offer alternative services. “Mobile branches” are available through Barclays’ educational and support van for customers in England and Wales.
Furthermore, the high street financial institution does operate in around 200 pop-up banking sites, which are located in sites such as libraries and community centres. It should be noted that “pop-up” services are shared with other banks so customers will need to check what day Barclays is operating in the unit.
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While the majority of confirmed bank branch closures have already taken place in 2024, multiple Barclays sites remain on the chopping block in 2025. Customers are being reminded to check if their location is earmarked for shutting down.
No branch closures are set to take place in Scotland and Northern Ireland next year. however this is subject to change. At least six sites are set to close in England and Wales next year.
Notably, all of the announced closures are scheduled to take place in January which means Barclays customers have a limited time left to take action if they are likely to be affected.
According to the bank, there were 1,447 Barclays branches in the UK of January 25, 2024. England has the most locations with 1,222 sites, which accounts for 84 per cent of the financial institution’s retail porfolio.
Here is a full list of the Barclays bank branch closures confirmed for January 2025, so far:
The Borehamwood branch was previously set to close on February 21, 2024. However, Barclays later revealed that it will be “be keeping it open for a while longer” with a new closure date to be announced.
As of December 2024, it appears the branch continues to operate with there being no update on whether the proposed shut down will eventually take place in the New Year.
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According to Which?, Barclays is the individual bank that has cuts its network the most, the number of closures rising to 1,216 over the last decade. NatWest Group, which is made up of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, has axed the most branches out of any group with 1,360 sites disappearing.
In second place, Lloyds Banking Group, comprimised of Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has shut 1,146 sites. As well as this, the Post Office has earmarked more than 100 branches for closure next year.
Sam Richardson, the deputy editor of Which?, shared: “‘While some may hardly notice the closure of their local branch as they seamlessly switch to online banking, for others reliant on face-to-face services, the impact can be disastrous.
“It’s not about halting closures altogether, but ensuring that essential banking services remain accessible to those who still rely on them. It is crucial that the government prioritises opening more hubs quickly, so that people aren’t left behind.”
