Risca’s new banking hub, located at 52 Tredegar Street, officially opened last week.
It is the first banking hub of its kind in Caerphilly County Borough and a welcome addition to Risca town centre. After a significant revamp, the former Barclays branch now welcomes customers of all major banks to the hub to carry out regular cash transactions at the counter, Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm.
The counter is operated by the Post Office. Whoever you bank with, this offers face-to-face services such as paying in cash and cheques, making withdrawals, balance enquiries, paying utility bills, and topping up gas and electricity accounts.
A community banker will also be available in the hub one day a week on a rota. You won’t need to make an appointment to speak to them:
Monday: Barclays
Tuesday: NatWest
Wednesday: Halifax (am), Santander (pm)
Thursday: Lloyds
Friday: HSBC (coming soon)
There is a private space inside the hub where you can talk in confidence with your community banker about more complicated banking enquiries like payments and transfers, managing your account and support through bereavement.
Services are open to personal and business customers alike.
Banking hubs are delivered by Cash Access UK, a not-for-profit company funded by major banks. Their work is part of a collective approach to protecting access to cash. They provide shared services in communities where they are needed most.
Last year, the organisation officially opened the UK’s 100th banking hub. The Risca Banking Hub is the 9th to open in Wales.
Cash Access UK recently undertook new research to understand how the opening of banking hubs has improved local high streets. In surveys with two communities where hubs have opened, three in 10 respondents said they visit and spend more on their local high street because they have a banking hub. Almost half (47%) of businesses surveyed said they have experienced an increase in footfall thanks to the banking hub. This is despite the fact that, UK wide, weekday footfall has fallen 18% compared with pre-Covid levels.
Cash Access UK are delighted to be opening a hub in Risca and look forward to making a positive difference to the community here too.
Stacey Thomas, Senior Development Manager, Cash Access UK:
“I’m so happy that the banking hub in Risca is now open. Finding the right location has been a challenge but well worth it.
As a team, we have a huge local connection to Risca. Family members of the team work nearby and my mother-in-law used to work in Barclays before she retired.
I’m so proud the hub is now open giving local people renewed access to cash and in-person banking services. The hub is available for everyday banking transactions every day of the week, and for more specific or complex enquiries, a community banker will be on-site to assist on designated days.”
