A BANKING hub has opened for business on Newquay’s high street.

State industry body Cash Access UK has launched the hub at 43, Bank Street, which was formally M&Co.

The facility operated by the Post Office provides day-to-day banking services for customers of multiple banks including Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, Danske Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money between Mondays and Fridays from 9am to 5pm.

The services available include personal banking where customers can pay in cash and cheques, withdraw cash, and check their balance. Business banking services include paying in cash and cheques, withdrawing cash and access change-giving services. Bill payments facilities are also offered where customers can make utility payments and purchase top-ups.

There will be private spaces where customers of banks can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy. They will be working on a rotating basis, so there will be staff from different banks available on different days, which will include Lloyds and Halifax on Mondays, Barclays on Tuesdays, to be confirmed on Wednesdays, HSBC on Thursdays and NatWest on Fridays.

The hub aims to serve as a replacement for individual bank branches that have closed, making it easier for people to access cash and banking support in their local area.

The last bank in Bank Street, Barclays, closed its branch on October 23, 2020, marking the end of over 120 years of banking on the street. The closure of the Barclays branch was the final step in a series of branch closures, with NatWest closing in 2018 and Lloyds and HSBC closing branches on the street since 2015. The Lloyds’ Chester Road branch closed earlier this year.

The banking hub is due to be officially unveiled on Friday, December 12 following its soft opening on Tuesday, December 2.

Britain’s banks have agreed to set up 350 “banking hubs” over the next five years to provide face-to-face high street services in the wake of mass closures of local branches. The commitment is intended to deliver on a Labour manifesto commitment to address the problem of “banking deserts” in many towns.