Four HSBC branches across Sussex will close next year.

Banks in Hove, Lewes, Bexhill and Bognor will shut their doors for the last time in the new year as growing numbers of customers opt for online banking over visiting a physical branch.

The high street bank found that the number of people visiting its branches had dropped by 65 per cent over the course of five years.

In a statement, the bank said: “The decline in branch use has accelerated so much since the Covid-19 pandemic that some of the branches closing are now serving fewer than 250 customers a week.”

HSBC also revealed that 97.5 per cent of its banking transactions are now done online.

When will my HSBC bank close?

  • Bexhill - April 18
  • Hove - May 23
  • Lewes - June 27
  • Bognor - July 18

The four Sussex branches are among 114 closures planned by the bank next year.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK 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.

“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so 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, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking.”