Barclays will pull down the shutters on another two North Yorkshire branches next year with a banking hub recommended for Richmond.

The banking giant has announced the closures of 18 more branches in early 2024, including two in North Yorkshire.

Locations in Richmond and Northallerton will both close, on December 4, and March 14 respectively.

Barclays said 90% of customers at its Richmond branch also use online, app or telephone banking and that only 25 customers use the branch exclusively.

But in Northallerton Barclays is pressing ahead with the closure despite 170 people still using the branch there as their only way to bank.

The move means Richmond will be left without any branches with a ‘banking hub’ recommended to open there by ATM network Link.

Banking Hubs, operated by the Post Office, allow customers of all major banks to carry out their normal banking and transactions in one location.

It is the 100th hub to be recommended across the UK.

John Howells, CEO, LINK: “We’re pleased that today we can confirm Richmond will be receiving a new Banking Hub and Cash Access UK is already working on plans to get it up and running.

“High streets are at the heart of our communities and Banking Hubs are helping to bring life back to them.

“More people are banking and shopping online meaning they’re not visiting ATMs or bank branches as often as they used to. It’s still critical that we’re able to provide free access to cash and face-to-face banking services.”

A banking hub is already running in Knaresborough with another opening having opened in Newton Aycliffe on Friday (December 1).

The closures come as banks continue to push forward with the move to online banking. The number of people using in-person services has been falling for years as people switch to digital.

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Barclays closed its branches in Leyburn and Bedale within a fortnight earlier this year, leaving the whole of Wensleydale without a local bank.

A Barclays spokesperson told the Mirror newspaper: “As visits to branches continue to fall, we need to adapt to provide the best service for all our customers.

"Where there is no longer enough demand to support a branch, we maintain an in-person presence through our Barclays Local network, live in over 300 locations, based in libraries, town halls, mobile vans and our banking pods.

“We also support access to cash with our cashback without purchase service, 24-hour deposit-taking ATMs and by working alongside the Post Office and Cash Access UK.”