WEST Mersea’s Barclays branch is set to close after the bank chain revealed “only 12 customers use the branch regularly as the only way to do their banking”.

The branch, in Yorick Road, West Mersea, is set to serve its final customer on Tuesday, June 13, as Barclays prepares to shut 14 more branches across the country.

The announcement follows a flurry of closures by other banks this year, including NatWest, which is axing 23 sites, and Lloyds Banking Group, which is closing 40 Halifax and Lloyds branches.

Also facing closure on June 7 is the Barclays branch in High Street, Manningtree.

Setting out its reasons for closing the branches, a spokesman said: “Back when we opened this branch, visiting us in person was one of the only ways to do your banking.

“Now, as there are lots of ways to manage your money without even leaving your home, we’re seeing many customers choosing to bank using our app, and online or telephone banking.

“This has had a big impact on the number of customers coming in to see us.

“When deciding whether to close this branch, we looked carefully at how it’s been used and how customers are banking in other ways.”

Barclays said 88 per cent of people who use the branch also banked online using the app, online or via phone in 2021.

The spokesman added: "12 customers use this branch regularly as the only way to do their banking.

"27 per cent of this branch’s customers have used nearby branches in the last 12 months.

"We’ll be working with the local community to understand the impact of closing this branch. Once we’ve gathered feedback, we’ll publish the results in a booklet called ‘Branch closure feedback’, which you can get from your branch or online at home.barclays/ukbranchclosures."