Bank branches are closing at a rate of 60 a month, according to research from consumer organisation Which?.

Branch closures were tracked across the UK since 2015, with 2,868 having closed since then, or are scheduled to close by the end of 2018. This trend has been accelerating since 2016 and so far this year 670 branches have closed or been scheduled for closure.

Scotland has been worst hit, with 368 branches having shut since 2015, or scheduled to close by the end of 2018. This is followed by the South East (361), the North West (353) and South West (327).

Natwest has closed the most branches, with 638 having shut, or scheduled to close by the end of this year, followed by HSBC (440), Lloyds (366) and RBS (350).

Which? pointed out that although online banking and mobile apps are on the rise, there are still many people who either cannot engage with these services or simply prefer traditional forms of banking.

Gareth Shaw, head of money online at Which?, commented: “While the decision is clearly a commercial one for a bank to take, it is also crucial that banks do recognise the needs of their customers and the communities they serve, before simply shutting their doors – and their customers out.”

At the start of May, RBS announced it would be closing 162 branches, explaining that the changing nature of customer behaviour played a role in the decision. Since 2014, branch transactions across RBS branches in England & Wales were down 30 per cent, while in the same period there was a 53 per cent increase in the number of customers using mobile banking, and mobile transactions have increased by 74 per cent.

In April, Lloyds confirmed closures of 49 branches as part of its ongoing digitalisation plan, which includes more than £3 billion worth of investment in to deploying new technologies to drive operational efficiencies and reduce overall costs.

HSBC told Which? that its branch closures reflect a change in the way customers are banking, as many choose to move more transactions away from branches and towards digital channels, with 93 per cent of customers contact now completed via the telephone, internet or smartphone.

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