Why is my local nationwide branch now closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays?

I am a national customer and recently visited a local high street branch.

However, it was Thursday – and the poster said it was closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I know Nationwide has made a big song and dance about keeping branches open, but are they doing it this way – cutting back their opening hours?

The big high street banks also close on odd days of the week now, so I’m not picking on Nationwide – I just find it a bit tricky. Do a lot of other nationwide branches do this? And why?

This is Money’s Helen Kirrane replies: Nationwide is not only a building society giant, but also a banking network giant.

It has the largest branch network of any high street, including the big banks, with its network of 605 branches – overtaking Lloyds, which has 598 branches.

It’s fair to say that at a time when bank branches were disappearing at a rate of knots, Nationwide weren’t doing too badly.

Britain’s high streets have been plagued by bank branch closures over the past five to ten years.

Since January 2019, 2,798 branches have been definitively closed, data from which? show, with 24 more closures already booked for 2025.

Barclays has closed the most branches, closing 829 since January 2019, with a further 20 announced by December 2025.

It is followed by Lloyds, which has closed 375 branches and plans to close a further 48 over the same time frame.

Next is TSB, which has closed 339 branches and plans to close 36 more by December 2025, according to which?

Nationwide is one of the banks that has been most vocal about keeping branches open. For comparison, it has closed 72 branches since January 2019.

We’re more used to seeing Nationwide’s “we’re not going anywhere” posters in the windows of its branches than “we’re closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays”.

The building savings bank has an established branch promise, which means that wherever there is a nationwide branch, it will remain open until at least 2028.

Nationwide renewed its branch pledge for the fourth time this March.

You’ve been asking if other branches nationwide also close two days a week and why – so This is Money did some digging.

Of Nationwide’s 605 strong branch network, 458 branches are open five days a week – that’s more than three quarters. While 342 branches remain open on Saturday.

Your local branch is one of 142 branches that close for a maximum of two days a week, meaning 23 per cent of Nationwide branches are closed for a maximum of two days a week.

As for the reason – Nationwide said those 142 branches will close so that branch staff can support those customers who use telephone or online banking, while still maintaining a high street presence.

James Blower, founder of Savings Guru answers: I think we are all aware of the decimation of branches on our high street. When I started my career in banking, Barclays, who I worked for, had over 40 branches in Norfolk. Now they only have three.

As you mentioned, not only have we seen branch closures, but we have also seen reduced hours with branches closed on random days, lunch breaks and training hours, making it even more difficult to access an open branch.

Although Nationwide are guilty of this too, to be fair to them I think they are better than their high street rivals – in Norfolk where I live they have 10 branches open which none of their high street rivals can beat.

Nationwide has closed fewer branches than any other mainstream rival over the past five years. Even if your experience is unfortunate, Nationwide is probably the best of them all at the moment.

Andrew Hagger founder of MoneyComms answers: Nationwide’s current branch closure pledge states that “everywhere we have a branch, we will still be there until at least early 2028”.

What it hasn’t committed to is maintaining its current opening hours for the next three and a half years, so if a nationwide branch decides to close for a period of time during the week, it doesn’t break its promise.

You could call it sneaky, but in reality other major banks are closing branches left, right and centre, claiming they don’t have enough people and more online, so Nationwide is probably seeing similar trends and has decided to step in in more extreme cases.

A spokesperson from Nationwide responds: Nationwide continues to value branches and personal service. Wherever we have a branch today, we will remain until at least the beginning of 2028.

More than three-quarters (76 percent – ​​458) of our 605 network are open five days a week, with 342 open on Saturdays. A further 142 branches are closing for a maximum of two days so that branch colleagues can support customers by phone or online.

This means we can operate in the most efficient and effective way while maintaining a high street presence.