Nationwide’s part-time branch network: no closures (for now), but not fully open either

Nationwide building society has historically taken a strong stance, and made some stronger statements, regarding its branch network. Yet branch closures and reduced opening hours are some of the first topics that come up in my conversations with members, staff and former staff.

While Nationwide has now promised not to close any Nationwide branches before early 2028, it does appear to have been cutting back on branch hours instead. The concern for members and staff is that this is just the prelude to a later closure: by reducing a branch operating hours, it reduces footfall even further, which makes it easier to justify the decision to close the branch in the future.

The Branch Promise

The Branch Promise was first made in March 2019. The text of the pledge at that time read:

Our promise to the high streeet

We promise that every town and city with a Nationwide branch today, will still have one for at least the next two years.

…

As we look to create better branches for our members, it may make sense to close or merge some older branches in a few areas. These will make way for newer, more accessible branches.

But whatever happens, our Branch Promise stands: if we’re in your town or city on March 18th 2019, we’ll still be around until at least May 31st 2021. Because when it comes to our branches, we like to be completely open.
The first Nationwide Branch promise (archived)

With the promise made, some consolidation and resulting closures continued. For example, before the year was up, Nationwide shut four branches in Dorset. The following year, in 2020, the Building Societies Members Association (BSMA) highlighted a further five branches set for closure.

The pledge has been adjusted and extended several times since:

We’ve extended our Branch Promise. We have promised to keep every one of our branches open until at least the start of 2028.
Current Nationwide Branch Promise web page

In October 2023 the society claimed that Nationwide had more branches than any major bank.

You might recall some TV advertisements around this time featuring actor Dominic West. The first ad landed Nationwide in some hot water, both with competitors and the Advertising Standards Agency, for claiming it hadn’t been closing branches when it had closed some branches in the prior year (see detailed write up of the case). The ad was withdrawn and a new version released with changes to the wording used focused on the forward-looking Branch Promise i.e. to not close any more.

The pledge was extended beyond Nationwide branches to include those acquired with Virgin Money, albeit with an important caveat: “the Promise will also apply to Virgin Money branches, following the completion of any existing Virgin Money branch closure plans.”

Nationwide and the “One and Only”

In March 2024, Nationwide drew attention to it having no competition in Windsor with the help of Chesney Hawkes (singer of “The One and Only“). At that time, Nationwide claimed this was not an isolated case: it was “the last branch standing in over 96 towns across the UK”.

It’s a statement repeated within Nationwide’s branch directory across several branch pages. A quick Google search confirms you’ll see the claim “We’re the last branch standing in…” at over 100 locations.

Not closing branches, but not fully open either

One gripe from members is that their local branch isn’t open traditional ‘banking hours’, and so some people get caught out expecting a branch to be open only to visit and find it shut.

According to Nationwide’s branch directory (correct as of 15 July 2025), there are currently 605 branches in the network. The breakdown of days open per week is as follows:

Some other facts that may be of interest:

No Nationwide branch opens on a Sunday.
No Nationwide branch opens earlier than 9am.
No Nationwide branch closes later than 4.30pm.
Sheffield (Meadowhall) and Birmingham (High Street) are open the longest hours.
221 branches i.e. more than one-third do not open on Saturdays.
140 branches i.e. almost one-quarter are closed at least one day midweek.
137 branches are open less than 30 hours a week.
Just 131 branches are open more than 40 hours a week.

The variation in branch opening hours is obvious. While Nationwide has pledged not to close a branch before 2028, and in many cases is proud to be the only high street brand left in many towns across the UK, Nationwide is clearly operating reduced hours in the majority of its branch network. Whether part-time operations continue to be the trend, or simply a stepping stone to further branch closures, remains to be seen.