LINK, the UK’s cash access and ATM network, has today announced local people and businesses in Longton in Stoke-on-Trent will benefit from a new banking hub. Following the announced closure of the town’s Lloyds Bank branch, LINK has confirmed the banking hub as part of a wider commitment to protect access to cash.
Banking hubs are a shared banking space, similar to a traditional bank branch, but available to everyone. When opened, the hub will consist of a counter service where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash and make bill payments. In addition, there will be private spaces where customers can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy. The banks will be working on a rotating basis, so there will be staff from different banks available on different days.
Longton is the fourth banking hub to be recommended in Staffordshire with hubs in Cheadle, Rugeley and Stone already open. The announcement comes as one of 15 banking hubs today, the other recommendations include: Armthorpe (South Yorkshire), Clevedon (Somerset), Didcot (Oxfordshire), Ebbw Vale (Blaenau Gwent), Heswall (Wirral), Hinkley (Leicestershire), Honiton (Devon), Mexborough (South Yorkshire), Mumbles (Swansea), Newmarket (Suffolk), Ringwood (Hampshire), Skelmersdale (Lancashire), Street (Somerset), and Wednesbury (West Midlands).
The banking hub will now be delivered by Cash Access UK. Over the next few weeks, it will begin to engage with the local community and will start to look for potential sites. There are currently 214 hubs open across the UK.
Dr Chris Ashton, Chief Commercial Officer, LINK: “While more people are choosing to bank and pay for things digitally, we know that many people still rely on and choose to use cash. That’s why we’re delighted to recommend the new hub in Longton. There are over 214 hubs open across the country and when it opens, the Longton banking hub will be vital for the local community and high street.”
