696 Nationwide branches to stay open to 2030 as rivals shut doors
Nationwide has confirmed that all 696 of its branches will stay open on UK high streets until at least 2030. That covers 605 Nationwide branches and the 91 Virgin Money sites picked up when the building society bought Virgin Money in 2024, and it means no closures for the next four years for anyone banking with either name.
The pledge lands in a year when the rest of the industry has been going the other way. More than 200 branches have shut across the UK in 2025 alone, with Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Santander all pulling sites off the high street. Lloyds Banking Group has announced a further 79 closures, 74 of them due in 2026 and five in 2027.
As of 4 June, Nationwide has more branches than any other banking provider in the country. The society has confirmed the 2030 commitment applies to Virgin Money branches too, including ones sitting close to an existing Nationwide, which is usually the first excuse a bank reaches for when it wants to close a door.
The people this matters most to are the ones the industry has been quietest about. Nationwide said many older and vulnerable customers still depend on face to face help, which is what makes branches a valued part of the high street. It also said younger customers use them, with more than one in 10 new student accounts opened in a branch this academic year.
Mandy Beech, Nationwide's Director of Retail Services, said earlier this year: "As banks continue to close their doors and step back from the high street, Nationwide will become the UK's largest group branch network." She added that branch usage is rising and that the society is "proud to stand by our commitment to keep every one of our branches open until 2030".
The numbers back the point. According to Nationwide, a third of its current accounts and around a fifth of its savings accounts were opened in a branch in the six months to the end of September 2025, with volumes up on the year before. Account openings have risen fastest where it is the last branch in town, and since January 2025 another 33 Nationwide branches have ended up in that position after rivals closed.
Branches are being used for more than banking. The society said its sites host dementia clinics run by Dementia UK's specialist admiral nurses, digital lessons to build confidence with technology, and safe spaces for people affected by domestic abuse.
For households, this is simple. If your high street still has a Nationwide or a Virgin Money counter, it is not going anywhere before 2030, and that is worth knowing if you have been quietly worried about paying in cash, sorting a problem in person or helping an older relative who does not bank online. Everyone else on the list of closures has already made a different choice.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
