Santander has announced that hundreds of branches will be affected by a major change with South East London locations being impacted too. 

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

With stores now set to be open from 9.30am to 12.30pm, giving staff a well-earned half-day off. 

Plus on weekdays branches will now shut at 3pm instead of the usual 4.30pm. 

News Shopper: Santander are changing their opening hours. (PA)Santander are changing their opening hours. (PA)

With branches in Bexleyheath, Bromley, Lewisham and Dartford all set to be affected by the shake-up. 

The change comes as a move toward focusing on digital banking and as a reflection of when customers are most likely to visit the branches according to the bank. 

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.