SANTANDER has confirmed that its Basingstoke branch will reduce its opening hours at the weekend from July.

Instead of being open from 9.30am to 4pm on Saturday, the bank, in Festival Place, will operate on a half day service, closing at 12.30pm.

The move is part of a wider shake-up of changes to opening hours being introduced by the bank from July 18.

Some branches will also see reduced hours during the week, Basingstoke is excluded from the changes as it is situated in a shopping centre. The town’s branch will be open branch will be open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 7pm – an increase on the current hours.

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Richard Owen, head of branches at Santander, said: “These changes will enable us to maintain our existing branch network while providing significant additional capacity to help customers who want to talk to us by phone.

“We have seen a continuing reduction in branch usage over several years, both before and since the peak of the pandemic, with many customers preferring to transact digitally or contact us by phone.

“We want to make sure we have the right mix of channels to help our customers however they choose to bank with us.”

Santander said it will be writing to regular branch customers to explain the new opening hours and to offer support.

Which? Money editor Jenny Ross said: “Santander deserves credit for taking greater account of customer needs than some of its rivals that have slashed their branch networks without putting in place reasonable alternatives. But this continues a concerning overall trend of banks chipping away at face-to-face services and opening hours.

“While proposals from individual banks and the industry to protect cash are welcome, a piecemeal approach is unlikely to be enough to safeguard access to cash for the millions of people who rely on it.”

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