HIGH STREET bank customers have been reminded that they can withdraw cash and pay cheques in post office branches.

It follows the announcement that Old Town’s Barclays branch will close at the end of the year.

Since 2017, almost all UK consumer banking customers have been able to carry out basic banking services at post office counters.

Services available at the post office include cash withdrawals, cash and cheque deposits, balance enquiries and handing out change. The services are available to customers of most High Street banks, including HSBC, First Direct, Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Santander and Barclays.

Around three-quarters of business banking customers are able to access basic banking services through the post office. Over the next few months this figure is expected to rise.

Martin Kearsley, director of banking services at the Post Office, said: “With a trusted network of 11,600 branches, and with 99.7 per cent of people in the UK living within just three miles of a Post Office, we are uniquely placed to bring vital services to local communities right across the country.

“It’s a responsibility that we take very seriously, and it's why we have secured continued access to almost every UK bank account through all of our branches, in partnership with the banking industry.

“From cash deposits and withdrawals, to balance enquiries, we want to make life as easy as possible for the millions of customers and small businesses who use us every day nationwide.”

Yesterday, we reported that Barclays’ High Street branch will close on Friday December 8.

The branch is being shut after customer numbers plunged. According to the bank, just over 1,000 people used the bank more than 12 times in the last year.

Mark Hatcliffe, community banking director for Barclays Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire, said: “At Barclays Old Town, Swindon branch, customer usage has continued to decline and more than two thirds (67 per cent) of our branch customers now regularly use alternative branches, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close it.”

For more details about the Post Office’s banking services, visit: www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-banking-services or call 0345 722 3355.