HSBC is closing its bank in Alton High Street on April 25 next year – despite the company’s own figures revealing that 34 per cent of its Alton customers use only the branch to do their banking.

Although 93 per cent of Alton customers are registered for phone banking, only 37 per cent actually use that service.

The numbers are similar for mobile and internet banking, for which 66 per cent of customers are registered. Only 33 per cent use the mobile service and just 29 per cent bank on the internet.

Of customers HSBC considers ‘vulnerable’ to the adverse effects of the Alton branch closure, only 14 per cent use phone banking, eight per cent use internet banking and six per cent use mobile banking. Twenty per cent of vulnerable customers do not use any other banking method.

A total of 246 personal and 62 business customers have used the branch in ten of the last 12 months.

In its closure impact analysis report for the Alton branch, HSBC said: “We continually review our branch network to ensure our branches are in the right locations which reflect the long-term changes in the way customers choose to bank with us.

“Retaining a sustainable branch network is extremely important to us and we need to ensure it is fit for the future. Therefore, after careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close this branch on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

“We are here to support you and there will be plenty of other ways you can continue to do your banking with us.”

In reaching the decision to close the Alton branch, HSBC considered the number of personal and business branch users affected, the number and type of transactions being undertaken by personal and business users, the current level of use of alternative banking methods by its customers, the number of customers more dependent on their branch than others and the distance to alternative banking services such as the Post Office and cash machines.

HSBC announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it will shut 114 branches between April and September 2023.

The bank said the number of customers using its branches had fallen by a third in the last five years and 99 per cent of cash withdrawals were now made at a cash machine.

HSBC’s nearest remaining branch will be at Paddington House in Basingstoke – a 14-mile drive or a 54-minute journey on public transport. It is open from 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9.30am to 1pm Saturday.