Santander has announced that its Watford branch is among hundreds set to be affected by a major opening hours change.

The new change will see branches no longer opening from 9.30am to 4pm on Saturdays, with them instead taking a half day. 

Stores are now set to open from 9.30am to 12.30pm, while on weekdays branches will now shut at 3pm instead of 4.30pm. 

Watford Observer: Santander are changing their opening hours. (PA)Santander are changing their opening hours. (PA)

The change comes amid a shift in focus to digital banking and reflects when customers are most likely to visit in person. 

Richard Owen, head of branches at Santander, said: “We have seen a continuing reduction in branch usage over several years, both before and since the peak of the pandemic, with many customers preferring to transact digitally or contact us by phone.

“These changes will enable us to maintain our existing branch network while providing significant additional capacity to help customers who want to talk to us by phone.”

Back in March 2021, Santander announced the closure of 11 branches.