NatWest to close 53 bank branches in 2025

NatWest will close 53 branches this year, with the highest number in the North West of England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands, and the North East.

The planned closures will be NatWest Group's first since new rules came into force protecting cash last September. 

Here, Which? takes a closer look at which NatWest branches are closing, and what it means for the customers who rely on them.

Which NatWest branches are closing in 2025?

Here are the locations of the branches due to close in 2025. 

Which NatWest Group branches closed in 2024?

You can use the search bar to see all the closures in 2024 and the date of closure.

Why are more branches closing?

NatWest said that over 80% of active current account holders now use digital banking, with 97% of retail accounts opened online.

A spokesman added: 'Digital banking continues to provide new and inclusive ways of allowing the overwhelming majority of our individual and business customers, including the elderly and vulnerable, to bank with us in ways that they weren’t able to before. 

'But we know that a small number of people are not yet comfortable with it, which is why we are proactively reaching out to support them with this transition, having made over 200,000 calls last year. We also have experts that they can speak to for support and guidance.'

Out of the latest closures, two banking hubs have been recommended for Garstang and Market Drayton. 

• Find out more: are banks playing fair closing the last branch in town?

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Which other banks are closing branches in 2025?

This year, 169 branches are due to close from the following banks: 

• Lloyds Group (including Bank of Scotland and Halifax): 102
• NatWest: 53 
• TSB: 8
• Barclays: 6

To find out whether your local branch is closing or has recently closed, our closure checker tool shows those shutting down in your local authority area.

What is being done to protect access to cash?

Here are some of the measures that have been brought in since we started our campaign to protect cash:

New law to protect cash

The financial watchdog's new rules stipulate that banks and building societies will need to weigh up if local communities lack access to cash services – such as branches and ATMs – and plug significant gaps.

Specifically, they will be required to assess cash access and check whether additional services are needed when changes are made to local services, such as the closure of a local branch.

The new rules also state that local residents and community groups will be able to request an assessment of whether there are gaps in local cash access, which providers must respond to. These requests can be made via LINK, which operates much of the UK's ATM network and co-ordinates between the FCA and banks on access to cash.

Where significant gaps are found, providers will have to deliver reasonable additional cash services.

In such cases, banks and building societies will be required to keep facilities such as branches and ATMs open until alternative cash services become available.

• Find out more: how Which? campaigned to protect cash and won

Post Office services

Since January 2020, customers of certain banks have been able to use Post Office branches to withdraw and deposit cash in their accounts and make balance queries. Most banks will also allow you to deposit cheques. 

This service, described as a 'lifeline' by the Post Office, means that people can still access essential services, even if their local bank branch has shut. 

The service will run until December 2025, after a new agreement was signed with 30 banks in February 2022.

• Find out more: Post Office continues to offer services for 30 bank and building societies

Cashback 

This initiative allows people to request cashback at the till in their local convenience store, without needing to make a purchase or pay a fee. It became possible last summer after a change in legislation. 

Link’s ‘cash at the till’ service has become a popular way to access cash in shops, with £5.5m withdrawn each month. Customers can withdraw any amount from 1p to £50, depending on their account balance and the cash available in the retailer’s till. Notes and coins are available.

This article was first published on 18 February 2022 and has been updated several times since then. It was last updated in January 2025.