Thurso customers notified about changes to Santander opening times
Customers of Santander have been notified about a change in opening times at the bank's Thurso branch.
From July 18, the branch in Olrig Street will open from 9.30am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, compared with 9.30am-4.30pm at present.
At the same time, Saturday opening will be introduced – from 9.30am to 12.30pm. At present the branch is shut at weekends.
Overall, the changes will mean a reduction of Thurso's opening times by four-and-a-half hours during the course of a week.
Santander says it is responding to "long-term trends in customer behaviour" by altering opening hours at branches across the UK.
"The changes reflect a thorough review of when customers use the bank’s branches," it says, pointing out that there will be no compulsory redundancies or reduction of employees' working hours.
In a letter sent to Thurso customers, Santander explained: "Our opening hours in Thurso branch will change permanently from July 18, 2022.
"The way many customers manage their money and banking has continued to change and the recent pandemic has accelerated this. Fewer customers are visiting our branches and many are finding it convenient to contact us by telephone for their day-to-day banking, or use mobile or online banking.
"So we’ve looked at how we can help our branch staff to continue providing a face-to-face service as well as supporting those customers that now prefer to contact us by telephone."
Local Highland councillor Matthew Reiss said: "The Saturday opening is very welcome."
Nationally, between 3pm and 5pm Monday to Friday, branch staff "will be available for pre-booked face-to-face appointments if customers need support that cannot be provided through alternative channels or earlier in the day".
Richard Owen, head of branches at Santander, said: “These changes will enable us to maintain our existing branch network while providing significant additional capacity to help customers who want to talk to us by phone.
"We have seen a continuing reduction in branch usage over several years, both before and since the peak of the pandemic, with many customers preferring to transact digitally or contact us by phone. We want to make sure we have the right mix of channels to help our customers, however they choose to bank with us.”
Santander said the number of customers using its branches fell by 33 per cent over the two years before the pandemic, a further 50 per cent in 2020 and 12 per cent in 2021. Digital transactions grew by around 20 per cent in each of those years.