HSBC reaffirms commitment to Bishop’s Stortford as North Street branch closes for ‘refresh’
HSBC has reaffirmed its commitment to Bishop’s Stortford as its North Street bank closes for a two-week refit.
The branch is undergoing a refresh, which includes internal building work. It closes on Wednesday (March 20) and is expected to reopen on Friday April 5 – a week before its near neighbour Barclays closes its North Street branch.
Karen Collier, HSBC UK’s local director, said: “We continue to invest in our branch network to make our customers’ experience banking with us a good one.
“We are pleased that our Bishop’s Stortford branch is getting a refresh, with some painting, new signage and the installation of new state-of-the-art cash machines, which we are excited about.
“We have been talking to customers about the temporary closure for the last month, and while we are having the work done people can continue to use their nearest post office for day-to-day transactions, plus mobile and online banking is available 24/7 in addition to being able to call our contact centre. Customers can also continue to use any of our branches, with Harlow being the closest branch.”
At the end of 2023, HSBC committed to announcing no new branch closures in 2024. It has said publicly that it believes it has broadly the right size of branch network in the UK.
A spokesman told the Indie: ”I think the investment into the [Bishop’s Stortford] branch is also a sign of our commitment to the town.”
Barclays’ North Street branch will close on Friday April 12, after closure plans were confirmed on January 12.
A Barclays Local facility is to operate at South Mill Arts in South Road from the following Thursday (April 18). Staff will be on-site from Mondays to Fridays, 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1pm to 4pm, to provide a walk-in service and pre-booked appointments.
According to Barclays, its Local service offers “face-to-face assistance, helping customers with their everyday finances and money management needs”. However, customers cannot deposit cash and cheques and must use their nearest post office or pay in cheques using the BarclaysApp, with Local staff ready to show them how.
