Santander in West Kirby is one of 140 branches across the UK to close

Google Street View image of Santander in West Kirby

Santander has announced plans today to close 140 branches across the UK including West Kirby.

The bank, on Grange Road, will close on June 20 this year meaning Santander customers will have to travel to Heswall or Birkenhead for their nearest branch.

The bank said the closures came as more and more customers were choosing to bank online rather than on the high street.

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 bestsuit 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 havethe right branch network to serve our customers’ changing needs, and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”