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In summer 2021, the ancient and royal metropolis of Windsor had six bank branches.

Two years later, it turned into left with appropriate one – with Nationwide Building Society the one real department now in existence to wait on a population of 32,000.

Barclays and HSBC were the last high avenue banks to shut their doorways, days after every other in August 2023.

Windsor has a bustling high avenue, helped by the many vacationers who flock to the metropolis to salvage the arena-necessary fortress and it has a a limited bit older demographic.

Financial savings and banking reporter Helen Kirrane took a tear back and forth to Berkshire and spent a day at Nationwide to salvage what it’s want to be the most tantalizing department in metropolis…

‘When are you closing?’ a customer requested as she turned into withdrawing money at one of many tills at Nationwide Building Society’s Windsor department.

‘You are now not going to obtain rid of us that without complications’ turned into the response of the customer service assistant who turned into serving to her.

Nationwide is now the most tantalizing bank department serving the metropolis, so no-one would per chance perhaps additionally blame the quizzical customer for asking.

The the same request turned into echoed by at least four company over the direction of the day I spent in Windsor’s last department.

Nationwide has a test on this department – and heaps others – studying: ‘In case your native bank or constructing society is closing, why now not be a part of us as a change?’ as it guarantees to wait on 605 branches commence real thru the nation.

Nationwide says the department now serves around 8,000 participants – or a quarter of the native population. Receive merely, if you occur to’d savor a most up-to-date chronicle with a department and dwell within the community, Britain’s very most tantalizing mutual is your easiest chance.

My tear to highlighted the importance of branches in a world of app-primarily primarily based completely banking, wherein many older and prone possibilities can not fathom.

As an instance, face-to-face banking is important when it comes to the fight against rising banking fraud, and for spotting signs of commercial abuse too, which we highlight below.

Your total fashioned high avenue names are in Windsor – M&S, Boots, a Post Workplace and Greggs – but banks are particularly absent.

Alongside Nationwide is the runt private Swedish bank, Handelsbanken, however the constructing society is the last mainstream establish standing.

It’s home to 1 of appropriate two money machines within the metropolis. The assorted ATM is tucked away in a department of Waitrose, which now not many folk uncover out about, the workers on the department told me.

Mondays are the busiest day on the Nationwide department and this one turned into no exception.

By 11am there turned into a queue of seven participants despite the grizzly grey day, with six Nationwide workers individuals available to abet possibilities with their varied banking wishes.

Most of the possibilities who come in are withdrawing or depositing money but there were also some opening most up-to-date accounts and savings accounts.

Nationwide’s director of retail services and products Mandy Beech tells me that 30 per cent of Nationwide most up-to-date accounts are opened in department.

The fluctuate of what possibilities ask of Nationwide workers ranges from overall deposits or withdrawals to asking a request about fraud and scams or Energy of Approved professional and bereavement.

Such turned into the quiz for money on the last surviving Windsor bank department while I turned into there that its ATM had urge out of money, so possibilities were now not in a location to utilize it for about a hours till more arrived.

Nationwide’s ATM has seen a 73 per cent spike in use since becoming the last department in metropolis, its files reveals.

Team on the department are knowledgeable on overall funds planning, and there has been a spotlight on making certain every person is as a lot as the trace on mortgages and past-time rates with the many Bank of England rate rises real thru the last two years.

Under, the graphic reveals the put the branches fill shut in Windsor.

Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds Bank and Halifax sit down empty, while Metro Bank has grew to change into into a Mountain Warehouse and Santander has grew to change into into an Indian restaurant.

From within the again of the counter, I turned into struck by a request I heard over and over when possibilities were withdrawing money: ‘Are you going to be doing some procuring as of late?’ or ‘are you as a lot as the rest nice?’.

These casual conversation starters can present manner to more important revelations though.

Emma, who has been working at Nationwide for 39 years, when the mutual had easiest three savings accounts, has seen a fat gamut of possibilities come and tear.

She told me a chilling tale of an aged customer who got here into the department to switch £30,000 from his chronicle to his son’s chronicle, or so he acknowledged.

Emma grew to change into suspicious due to the the model he turned into acting.

She acknowledged: ‘In most cases when it comes to possibilities you uncover day after day and fill constructed that relationship with, you appropriate know when one thing is now not ultimate and likewise you obtain a sense in your gut.’

When probed a limited bit more, it grew to change into out that somebody turned into coercing the customer into transferring the money, and had bullied him into telling Nationwide workers a untrue anecdote.

If it had now not been for Emma picking up that one thing turned into off, the fraud would per chance perhaps fill long past undetected and the customer would per chance perhaps additionally fill lost £30,000 of his savings.

If there wasn’t a department for this model of fraud to occur in person, it would likely shift to over the mobile phone and online.

Casey, who has been working at Nationwide for eight years, told me of 1 other time when a woman got here in to the department and requested to withdraw £4,000 from a Nationwide chronicle.

She equipped a passport, which Casey swiftly realised turned into untrue.

Casey acknowledged: ‘I appropriate knew one thing wasn’t ultimate and that it turned into a untrue passport, so I tried to aquire some time by saying I needed to full one thing within the again.’

When she got here again to the counter, the woman turned into long past. Extra investigations showed the person turned into posing as somebody else, who had a reliable Nationwide chronicle.

Fraud on the upward thrust

The crew on the Windsor department fill seen an uptick in fraud real thru the board. Many native possibilities will come in to the department to ask questions about their chronicle if they’ve got a rip-off mobile phone name.

Except for being positioned interior a royal metropolis, what makes the Windsor department diverse to other Nationwide branches within the nearest towns of Slough, which is a two miles away real thru the Thames and Maidenhead, a 5 mile pressure is that the customer atrocious will likely be older.

Slough and Maidenhead end produce other banks other than Nationwide, at the side of NatWest and Lloyds Bank, but many older possibilities are now not excited by heading to these busier spots.

Emma tells me: ‘A 92 year former lady phoned in tears currently because she had got a name from somebody saying they labored at Nationwide and inquiring for her bank facts.’

She didn’t give the caller any facts, fortunately, but wished reassurance that her money turned into alright and that she hadn’t finished the rest substandard.

Emma added: ‘It be now not the case that possibilities who identify to full their banking within the department are incapable of online banking.

‘But what possibilities identify on more than the rest if one thing goes substandard, savor fraud as an example, is reassurance and to teach to somebody they belief who knows what they are doing.’

To abet produce self belief in possibilities around managing their private rate range online, the department holds ‘tea and tech’ sessions.

The department takes care of prone possibilities in a skill that they would not be in a location to obtain if they were forced to full all their banking online.

There are parts which allow the department workers to flag that a customer is prone and would per chance well need bigger textual mumble for kinds and documents, as an example.

In person, bank workers is also precipitated to teach louder for purchasers which fill listening to loss, without the customer having to ask or produce a fuss.

The Nationwide in Windsor also has a safe space – a room the put anyone experiencing domestic abuse can tear to utilize a mobile phone or teach to a member of workers.

There are over 400 of those safe areas in Nationwide branches real thru the UK.

Division workers fill got specialised coaching to predicament signs of domestic abuse and supply make stronger to those affected.

What’s the model forward for Nationwide’s Windsor department?

Windsor’s Nationwide department will likely be there till a minimal of 2026, below Nationwide’s department promise. In every single place there could be a Nationwide department, the mutual will wait on it commence till a minimal of 2026.

The department promise has been renewed three times since Nationwide first made it in 2019.

Nationwide has now overtaken valuable banks to fill the largest department network on the high avenue with 605 branches. It’s followed by Lloyds with 599 branches and NatWest with 485 branches, CACI files reveals.

One Windsor department workers member acknowledged: ‘If I had a pound for every time a customer requested me ‘are you closing?’ I’d fill moderately about a money by now.’

It be ghastly that a metropolis with as high a profile as Windsor has easiest one bank department..

In actual fact that many smaller towns without the sector of Windsor are shedding their banks at a snappy rate.

Recordsdata collated by money machine network Link indicates that, since Might well 2022, more than 1,200 branches fill shut – or are due to the end between now and slack next year.

The department promise will abet to present Windsor possibilities the assurance they need that they are going to fill a bodily banking outlet till 2026, but what about after that point?

Requested whether or now not it’s miles likely that Nationwide will renew the department promise a fourth time, a Nationwide spokesman acknowledged: ‘As lengthy as there would possibly be silent a need for them we can wait on branches commence.’

So in Windsor, a minimal of, it’s miles a case of ‘use it or lose it’ when it comes to the metropolis’s last last bank department.