New facility set to begin operating in the early summer
Banking hub meeting with Rupa Huq, local Councillors and residents
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March 9, 2023
Further progress has been made for Acton to be the location for the launch of one of the first Banking Hubs in the country.
Although the final lease has not yet been signed, an ‘agreement to lease’ is in place and the new facility will be based in The Oaks Shopping Centre next to the branch of KFC. It will offer normal banking services including cash transactions and lodgements. The aim is to provide services for businesses and residents who deal in cash as these are no longer being provided for by the traditional banking industry. The service will be run by the Post office initially as it already has the necessary systems in place. There will also be a private space where bank customers can make an appointment to discuss personal business. Banks likely to be involved are Barclays, Lloyd's Santander, Nat West, Virgin Money and Danske Bank.
At this stage it is hoped the Banking Hub will be up and running by early summer.
Vacant units in the Oaks Shopping Centre
The initiative attracted broad support from residents, councillors and local MP Rupa Huq after banks started to abandon Acton High Street and the Post Office closed. The Ealing Central and Acton MP had raised the issue of the lack of banking facilities on the High Street with the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
According to consumer campaigning group Which?, the rate of bank branch closures increased significantly in 2021, peaking between June and August when 298 branches closed their doors - an average of 99 per month. But the independent Access to Cash Review has found that more than 5 million people in the UK are still “heavily reliant” on notes and coins.
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