Centre in the Oaks officially launched by money saving expert
The opened to customers earlier this month
June 15, 2023
There is to be an official opening of Acton’s new Banking Hub in the Oaks Shopping Centre this Thursday (15 June) at 3pm.
Although the new centre has been open to customers since 5 June, TV personality and money saving expert, Martin Lewis, will be cutting the ribbon for a formal launch of the new facility. He will be joined by Rupa Huq MP and Lord Vaizey of Didcot.
Customers of 21 different banks including Nat West, Lloyds, Santander, Barclays and Nationwide can now complete in person transactions at the hub. There are as yet no Post Office services available although you can buy stamps.
The hub will be open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and banks will take it turns to offer extra services like loans and mortgages.
The Community Bankers, who customers can talk to on more complicated financial issues, will work on rotation:
Monday: Nat West
Tuesday: Barclays
Wednesday: Lloyds
Thursday: Nationwide
Friday: Santander
Rupa Huq, who campaigned for the hub to be located in Acton following the exodus of banks from the High Street described the hub as ‘a really exciting new venture’.
Rupa Huq on an earlier visit to Acton's Banking Hub
The concept was originally formulated in 2021 and, since that time, there has been effective lobbying in the area for Acton to be included in the programme.
It becomes the sixth Banking Hub to be launched in the UK and the first in London, or indeed, any urban area.
The Ealing Central and Acton MP believes that banks being willing to work together in such ventures could stave off the decline of Acton’s High Street as well as improve access to cash in the area and help combat loneliness for the elderly who don't want to online bank as value human interaction. She has described the launch as a counterpoint to the use of AI.
Gareth Oakley, CEO of Cash Access UK said, “Banking Hubs such as the one opening in Acton are important for millions of people in these financially challenging times. These Hubs are having a positive impact on local communities – from the counter service to the knowledge and support of the community bankers.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
