Asda and Barclays add banking services to weekly shops

Asda and Barclays today (8 November 2013) announced a trial to make everyday banking services more flexible and accessible, with bank branches open seven days a week inside Asda stores from 2014.

These innovative new style branches, will provide a new banking experience, open seven days a week, with services available at the same time the Asda store is open. Four pilot bank branches will open from February 2014, and will offer customers the flexibility of longer opening hours, and more convenient parking for customers to visit their bank.

Steve Cooper, Head of Barclays Retail and Business Bank said: “We’ve spoken to our customers who use our everyday and business banking services in our branches and they’ve told us their time is precious so would benefit from being able to multi-task, park easily and visit branches with longer opening hours. This partnership with Asda means they can do their food shop and bank at the same time, with the opportunity for a new flexible banking experience in a way that’s most convenient for our customers.”

The new branches within Asda will be available to all new and existing Barclays customers. Barclays colleagues will be on hand to support customers during traditional opening hours. Outside of these hours, the new branches will host new technology to allow customers to carry out regular transactions such as paying in cash and cheques, paying bills, withdrawing and transferring money.

Karen Hubbard, Executive Director for Property and Multichannel at Asda said: “This is the next step in the evolution of how we continue to make our stores relevant to our customers’ everyday needs, giving them access to banking services to use at their convenience – when they want, and how they want it.

“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. In partnership with Barclays, we’ll trial banking services in our stores for the communities which need it the most.”

Steve Cooper from Barclays continued: “We are constantly reviewing the way we work to ensure we can deliver a service that is shaped around what our customers want, offering them choice, flexibility and a seamless banking experience. Our ambition is that by 2017, we will have an innovative and sustainable future proof suite of branches that exist alongside a choice of ways our customers can contact us, so they will feel they can do things quicker and more effectively.”

The first branch will be opened in Asda Birchwood in Cheshire in February 2014. Store trading hours will be from 8am to 10pm, six days a week and 10.30 am to 4.30 pm on Sundays. A further three branches will open in Asda stores in Pudsey in West Yorkshire, North Watford in Hertfordshire and Broadstairs in East Kent, with the aim to extend the pilot to open eight in total by early 2014.

Notes to Editors:

About Asda Stores Ltd.

Founded in the 1960s in Yorkshire, Asda is one of Britain’s leading retailers. It has more than 180,000 dedicated Asda colleagues and 580 stores across the UK. Its main office is in Leeds, Yorkshire and its George clothing division is in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. More than 18 million people shop at Asda stores every week and 98 per cent of UK homes are served by www.ASDA.com. Asda joined Walmart, the world’s number one retailer, in 1999.


About Barclays

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays’ purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way.

With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs approximately 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.
For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.