South East locals call for banks to stay open and provide more support

The last few months has seen retailers announcing store closures, across the UK, leaving many fearing the future of the British high streets, and new figures released today reveal the extent to which people are struggling with their high street banking as banks have reduced opening hours or shut altogether during the pandemic.

According to new figures released today from Metro Bank, 38 per cent of people across the South East are worried about their finances as a result of COVID-19. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that banks have reduced opening hours or have shut completely, leading to 24 per cent having admitted that they’re now really struggling with their banking.

The research found that 37 per cent of those living in the South East claim their banks have reduced their opening hours and 8% claim their banks have completely closed. This poses a difficulty for 37 per cent of those surveyed who have suggested that there are some services they can only access by visiting their local branch.

Metro Bank however, has made a real attempt to counteract the banking struggles for people across the UK including those in the South East and as a result have stayed open throughout pandemic and are now increasing their opening hours further from Monday 7th September to Monday to Friday 8.30am-6.30pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 11am-5pm.

The nearest Metro Bank is in Basildon Town Centre.

Aston spoke to Murray Jones, regional director at Metro Bank to discuss about the research in more detail and also discussed about what Metro Bank are offering.

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