Basingstoke ObserverFROM 18 July, Santander will be making changes to its branch opening hours and providing increased telephone support for customers in response to long-term trends in customer behaviour.
Across the country changes to branch opening hours will mean: branches will be changing their Monday – Friday opening hours from 9.30am to 4.30 pm to 9.30am to 3pm. Between 3pm and 5pm, branch colleagues will be available for pre-booked face-to-face appointments if customers need support that cannot be provided through alternative channels or earlier in the day.
There are a few exceptions to the new opening hours and the Basingstoke Branch in Festival place is one of them as it has been confirmed it will continue to remain open until 7pm Monday to Friday.
316 branches, including Basingstoke will move from full day Saturday opening to half day Saturday opening. Face-to-face appointments can be made at these branches in the afternoon where customers need support that cannot be provided through alternative channels or earlier in the day;
76 Branches will retain their current half day opening hours on a Saturday and 58 branches will remain closed on a Saturday as they are today.
There will be no branch closures as part of these changes.
Richard Owen, Head of Branches - Santander said: “These changes will enable us to maintain our existing branch network while providing significant additional capacity to help customers who want to talk to us by phone. We have seen a continuing reduction in branch usage over several years, both before and since the peak of the pandemic, with many customers preferring to transact digitally or contact us by phone. We want to make sure we have the right mix of channels to help our customers however they choose to bank with us.”
Santander will be writing to regular branch customers from 21 April to explain the new opening hours and to offer any support they may need as a result of the changes. The bank also has a number of ways to help customers who want to find alternative ways to manage their everyday banking, from branch teams hosting online events to a range of guidance on Santander’s website.
