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In-store branches of M&S Bank all close from today

Emma Lunn
Written By:
Emma Lunn
Posted:
Updated:
02/07/2021

The 29 bank branches located inside M&S stores will all close from today, while M&S current accounts will close from 31 August.

M&S announced the move in March when it said it would be “refocusing its bank service to create a digitally enabled and uniquely rewarding shopping and payment experience for M&S customers”.

The closure of in-store branches follows the growing trend of high street bank customers servicing their accounts online or by telephone.

M&S travel money bureaux branches, which are located in more than 100 M&S stores, are unaffected by the plans.

James Andrews, senior personal finance editor at money.co.uk, said: “The closure of the in-store branches might not be a big deal to customers who already manage their accounts online, but those used to in person services and unwilling or unable to use remote banking could miss out.

“However, everyone with an M&S current account needs to act fast and make sure they either switch or close their account before the 31st of August 2021.

“After this date, your account will be closed completely and you won’t be able to access your money or make any debit or credit transactions.”

Closing your account

If you want to close your account, there are certain things to keep in mind. First of all, your account can only be closed with a zero balance, so if your account is overdrawn or in credit, you must deposit or transfer money to get to £0.

If you’re closing your account with an overdraft, or transferring that debt to a new account, you need to choose a provider with an equal or greater overdraft capacity, otherwise you risk high charges or penalties being applied to your account.

When the account closes, direct debits and standing orders will also automatically be terminated, so you need to make sure you’re on top of your payments before that happens.

If you switch current accounts using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), your new bank will arrange for all your direct debits and regular payments to be switched to your new account.

After 31 August, your online statement history with M&S Bank will no longer be available, so it might be an idea to print off your recent statements or download them as PDFs and save them if you might need them in the future – for a mortgage application, for example.


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