Reimagining the branch: bringing human advice into the digital age

The UK's branch network has been fundamentally reshaped. More than 6,700 bank and building society branches have closed since 2015, representing around 68% of the total network. Yet consumer demand for in-person support has not disappeared. It has evolved.

Digital channels now dominate routine transactions, reshaping how customers engage with their bank or building society. But buying a first home, opening a savings account for a child's future, planning for retirement: these are the moments that still call for a human conversation. SBS research found that 85% of consumers would use an in-person service if their bank or building society made it more accessible. The appetite is there. The question is how to meet it.

The challenge for UK banks and building societies is not whether branches still matter, it is whether they can reinvent them. Traditional, fixed locations are only one part of the answer. The modern branch is defined by flexibility: the ability to connect customers and members with knowledgeable colleagues wherever they need them, through community-based hubs, shared spaces, or pop‑up locations. Branches shift from being a legacy cost to manage to a strategic capability to deploy.

This webinar brings together senior voices from across the industry to examine what a modern branch model looks like in practice, and what it takes to make it a reality.

The key takeaways

·      The state of UK branch networks: what the data really tells us

·      Why trusted conversations with knowledgeable colleagues still matter at life's most important financial moments

·      What a modern branch model looks like beyond bricks and mortar

·      How to balance digital convenience with flexible, accessible in-person services

·      Enabling branch transformation without unsustainable costs