Banking services restored to town as building society opens branch

Newcastle Building Society’s new branch in Pickering has opened its doors, restoring essential banking services to residents in the town.

The society says its 32nd branch, which is in Pickering’s Market Place, branch marks the latest phase in a multi-year, multi-million pound investment programme.

The new branch comes just months after news of the closure of the last bank branch in Pickering, with Barclays citing falling customer usage and increased preference for digital banking behind its decision to close in January 2025.

Newcastle Building Society is pioneering the use of a multi-bank kiosk in its Pickering location.

OneBanx, a Glory company, enables personal and small business customers to withdraw money and make cash deposits into their own bank account. The kiosk is expected to be used by residents, visitors, and businesses in the town who continue to use cash and rely on convenient access to their account.

The branch expands the society’s presence in Pickering, which started in 2019 when it acquired a financial advice-only office in the town.

The current financial advice team will move from its existing office on Champley’s Mews to the branch on Market Place.   

Andrew Haigh, chief executive officer at Newcastle Building Society, said: “We’re pleased to open our new Pickering branch, extending our presence in the town where we’ve maintained a financial advice office for a number of years, and building on our commitment to face-to-face financial services and advice.

“Bank branch closures are blighting our communities, putting more and more people at risk of financial exclusion and removing choice in how they manage their money.

“As a mutual, we’ll continue to focus on being available in the way our members and communities need us.

“As well as investing in our online services, this means investing heavily in our branch network – providing customers with choice in how they manage their finances, by growing and extending our presence in the communities we serve.

“And we’re seeing the evidence that this is what our communities want as people vote with their feet and balances and customer numbers grow.”

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said “I am thrilled that Newcastle Building Society has now confirmed that their Pickering branch is now open.

“I met with Newcastle Building Society earlier this year who currently have a financial advice centre in the town and the arrival of the new full-service branch will mean access to financial services, cash and deposits for my constituents in Pickering.”

Javed Anjum, CEO of OneBanx, added: “We are excited to continue our partnership with Newcastle Building Society.

“As the original provider of multi-bank, cash transaction services in the UK since 2020, and having already powered substantial volumes of cash for UK consumers and businesses, OneBanx supports and bridges the gap between customers who rely on branches for cash transactions merged with convenience of digital banking.”