News: No counter offer from Santander in Rotherham
Santander is keeping its Rotherham town centre branch open but removing the counter service as part of plans it says will help them "better serve the changing needs of its customers."
The Effingham Street branch is part of a proposed transformation of the branch network that will result in the closure of 95 branches. Santander's refreshed network is set to consist of 349 branches, including 290 full-service branches, 36 reduced hours branches, 18 counter-free branches and five Work Cafés.
An update from Santander on the changes reads: "We last did a major review of our branches in 2021. Since then, our customers are choosing to use Mobile, Online and Telephone Banking more, and branches less.
"We’ve now done a more recent review of our branches, looking at where they’re located, how they’re used and the other local banking options available.
"When deciding to switch this branch to a counter free service, we looked at how the branch is being used and how customers are banking in other ways."
93% of Rotherham customers already use a variety of ways to do their banking with 71% of branch customers using online, mobile or telephone banking services. 19% of branch customers also use another Santander branch.
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Even without a counter, Santander say the Rotherham branch will still offer almost all of the services as a full branch for personal and business customers - all except coin-based transactions.
The bank stated: "Counter-free branches enable customers to interact with Santander staff face-to-face, but without the traditional banking teller behind a counter. Customers will continue to be able to bank as normal, with the majority of services still available and additional colleagues on hand to support customers."
A free-to-use ATM is expected to remain in the unit after the counter is removed from August 11 2025. The nearest full-service branches will be in Sheffield city centre and Barnsley town centre.
A spokesperson for Santander UK, said: "As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future. Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside Work Cafés, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance. As a business, we must move with customers and balance our investment across all the places where we interact with customers, to deliver the very best for them now and in the future."
Following a number of acquisitions, including Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, Santander once had three branches in close proximity in Rotherham town centre.
Santander website
Images: Google maps
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The Effingham Street branch is part of a proposed transformation of the branch network that will result in the closure of 95 branches. Santander's refreshed network is set to consist of 349 branches, including 290 full-service branches, 36 reduced hours branches, 18 counter-free branches and five Work Cafés.
An update from Santander on the changes reads: "We last did a major review of our branches in 2021. Since then, our customers are choosing to use Mobile, Online and Telephone Banking more, and branches less.
"We’ve now done a more recent review of our branches, looking at where they’re located, how they’re used and the other local banking options available.
"When deciding to switch this branch to a counter free service, we looked at how the branch is being used and how customers are banking in other ways."
93% of Rotherham customers already use a variety of ways to do their banking with 71% of branch customers using online, mobile or telephone banking services. 19% of branch customers also use another Santander branch.
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Even without a counter, Santander say the Rotherham branch will still offer almost all of the services as a full branch for personal and business customers - all except coin-based transactions.
The bank stated: "Counter-free branches enable customers to interact with Santander staff face-to-face, but without the traditional banking teller behind a counter. Customers will continue to be able to bank as normal, with the majority of services still available and additional colleagues on hand to support customers."
A free-to-use ATM is expected to remain in the unit after the counter is removed from August 11 2025. The nearest full-service branches will be in Sheffield city centre and Barnsley town centre.
A spokesperson for Santander UK, said: "As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future. Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside Work Cafés, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance. As a business, we must move with customers and balance our investment across all the places where we interact with customers, to deliver the very best for them now and in the future."
Following a number of acquisitions, including Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, Santander once had three branches in close proximity in Rotherham town centre.
Santander website
Images: Google maps
