Caerphilly town hit with another bank closure

Caerphilly town has been hit with the announcement of a second bank branch closure within a week.

Halifax, based at Castle Court Shopping Centre, will permanently close on November 30 this year.

Lloyds Banking Group, which owns the former building society, said the decision to close the branch was based on falling customer demand.

Barclays Bank recently announced it was closing in October in a move described by Caerphilly MP as a body blow for the town.

A spokesperson for Halifax said: “As many customers now choose to bank online or through their mobile app, visits to our Caerphilly branch have fallen over recent years. The local post office offers everyday banking, with cash also available at close by free-to-use ATMs, alongside other ways to bank such as online, phone and mobile banking services.”

According to Lloyds Banking Group, 73% of Halifax’s personal customers use other ways of banking, including through mobile apps, internet or phone banking – as well as other branches.

Branch transactions at the Caerphilly branch fell more than 60% between 2017 and 2022.

The spokesperson added that a ‘community banker’ will make regular visits to the town after the closure to offer face-to-face customer support and will be consulting with customers when and where they can visit.

Barclays Bank offers a similar service to Bargoed after it closed the branch there earlier this year.

In addition to Caerphilly, Barclays has also previously announced it is to close its Risca branch next year. Blackwood’s HSBC branch will shut on July 25, after its closure was announced in November last year.

In a Twitter post, deputy council leader Jamie Pritchard said: “Over recent years, banks have been leaving town centres all over the country. In recent weeks I’ve been discussing with colleagues about what proactive measures can be considered to at least keep some lost banking facilities in towns. It’s important all avenues are explored.”

The Conservative’s South Wales East Senedd Member Laura Anne Jones said she would be writing to the major banks to call on them to save high street services.

She said: “Older and vulnerable people in the area rely heavily on in-person banking facilities and this could only create a bigger divide for the digitally excluded.”

Banking hubs

Despite losing Barclays, and now Halifax, Caerphilly town still has several other banks on its streets – other towns such as Risca are often without any face-to-face banking facilities.

In Bargoed, Barclays staff regularly hold surgeries in the library, while Lloyds operates a mobile bank to visit areas where it used to have branches.

Other towns left without a bank and a significant post office, such as Risca, qualify to have a banking hub – a new scheme run by LINK, the organisation which operates the UK’s cash machine network

There are currently four banking hubs up and running in the UK at the moment in Devon, Lanarkshire, Yorkshire and Essex. Around 100 locations have been earmarked for a banking hub – including Risca, which will likely open once Barclays closes next year.

Banking hubs are a shared banking space, similar to a traditional bank branch, but available to everyone. The hub will consist of a counter service operated by Post Office employees, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions.

There will also be private spaces where customers can speak to staff from their own bank for more complicated matters on set days.