High Street branch to close

Counter transactions fall by 58 per cent

NatWest has announced that its branch in Slough High Street will close this September.

The national banking chain has taken the decision, saying customers are using digital banking ‘more than ever before’.

Between 2019 and 2023, counter transactions at the High Street branch fell by 58 per cent.

The branch will close on Thursday, September 12.

The banking chain added that customers can use banking services at any Post Office, although news was announced last month that WHSmith in the High Street, which houses Slough Post Office, would be closing in May.

A date for the closure of Slough Post Office is being finalised and it has not yet been confirmed whether it will open at another location in the town centre.

The next nearest Natwest branch for Slough residents is Slough Trading Estate.

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

“Our customers appreciate the speed and convenience of digital banking for everyday transactions, and often, when it comes to making bigger, more complex decisions they value speaking to our skilled and experienced colleagues.

“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.

“While we are increasingly engaging our customers digitally, our branch network remains important to us.

“We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we are investing c£35m in our network across the UK, from 2023-24, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and banking hubs.”