A town will lose its second bank in the space of four months as HSBC has announced plans to close. 

The St Neots branch on High Street is one of 114 HSBC branches to close next year. 

A decline in the number of customers visiting its branches, more digital transactions and a rise in mobile app users have contributed to the closures, the bank has said. 

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s managing director of UK distribution, said: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. 

“Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.” 

The HSBC branch in St Neots is due to close on June 27, 2023.

It is the second bank in as many months to close in the town after NatWest announced in October that it would be shutting permanently from next February.

HSBC, which is also closing its St Ives branch on April 18 next year, estimate that around 100 members of staff could lose their jobs. 

The bank said that the decline in branch use, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen some branches serving less than 250 customers a week. 

It also found that footfall in 74 per cent of the branches due to close has reduced by at least 50 per cent. 

Ms Uhi said customers will be able to access services such as “soon-to-come banking hubs, alongside live chat, social media and telephone banking. 

“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly. 

“We’ve invested heavily in our ‘post closure’ strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally.” 

HSBC found that usage of its mobile app since 2017 has almost tripled by 280 per cent, while it aims to invest tens of millions of pounds in improving its remaining branch network. 

Since 2021, HSBC said the support it has given to customers when a branch has closed includes 1,500 free Samsung tablet devices who cannot afford or have no access to equipment to help with digital banking. 

Ms Uhi added: “We look forward to significant and quicker progress being made in 2023.”