Asda opens its stores’ doors to Barclays

They say the first eight branches will open early next year under a pilot scheme covering towns in Cheshire, West Yorkshire, Hertfordshire and east Kent.

Barclays said the move will offer its customers the flexibility of longer opening hours, mirroring those of the Asda stores in which the branches are located, as well as providing more convenient parking.

It said the banks will be in clearly defined and branded areas in the stores, so that their customers can do their banking in private.

The first branch will open in Asda Birchwood in Cheshire in February – from 8am until 10pm, six days a week and from 10.30am until 4.30pm on Sundays.

Three more will open in Pudsey in West Yorkshire, North Watford in Hertfordshire and Broadstairs in east Kent within a few weeks.

Barclays said they hope to extend the pilot to eight branches within a year.

The other locations have yet to be announced.

Banking facilities will be available whenever the supermarkets are open.

Metro Bank already boasts seven-day banking among its services while Marks & Spencer, which has been introducing bank branches in its stores since last year, also has opening hours that mirror those of the shops in which its banks are sited.

M&S also provides pagers so customers can carry on shopping instead of queuing.

A spokeswoman for financial information website Moneyfacts, yesterday said: “With providers’ customers living increasingly hectic lives, it’s more important than ever for customers to be able to access banking facilities when they require.”

Asda’s property and multichannel executive director Karen Hubbard said that the trial will be taking place in areas where the “communities need it most”.

She added: “Access to banking services is an under-rated but important asset to any community but in many areas, these services just aren’t available to families.”