As the 100th banking center opens its doors, will YOUR city be next in line to get one?

There are now 100 banking centers across the country, a milestone for Cash Access UK.

Today, Darwen in Lancashire and Morriston in Wales became the latest towns to receive a banking centre, taking numbers 99 and 100.

Darwen was recommended a center by Link ATM network following a community request following the closure of bank branches in the town.

This week, Cash Access UK, the charity that runs the banking centres, opened five new centers in Harpenden, Yeadon, Huntly and, today, Darwen and Morriston.

The Labor Party has committed to building 350 banking centers by the end of Parliament. With 100 of the centers now open, Post Office boss Neil Brocklehurst said “we are on track to meet the Government’s target”.

It can take up to a year to establish a banking center, and most of this time is spent finding a location for a new center.

Link conducts community assessments following the announcement of the closure of any major bank, a significant change in hours or services provided, or when requested by a member of a community.

Link then recommends new banking centers or deposit services and these are provided by Cash Access UK, which is owned by the banks.

To date, 176 banking centers and 126 deposit services have been recommended. Cash Access UK confirmed today that 100 deposit services will be available by the end of the year.

Several other cities in the country could welcome a banking center on their main street. In September, Link recommended the opening of banking centers in 15 cities.

Previously, cities where a Nationwide branch was the last remaining branch were not eligible to receive a banking center. But the rules changed in September and cities where the last branch is Nationwide can also receive a banking center.

This is Money analysis can now reveal that there are a further 19 cities that would meet the criteria to be recommended as a banking centre, given that they only have one bank left in the city.

It means towns like Windsor in Royal Barkshire, where the only branch left in the town is a Nationwide Building Society, could be in line to receive a banking centre.

Other towns that could benefit from the centers include Glastonbury in Somerset, Lampater in Wales and Alloa in Scotland.

Towns where there is only one bank branch

• Hello
• Campbelltown
• Ilkley
• Glastonbury
• Windsor
• leather head
• Leigh-on-Sea
• Lampeter
• pocklington
• Dagenham
• Largs
• Cardigan
• Guisborough
• March
• Melksham
• pontypool
• Whitstable
• gloss
• Chepstow

Dorking had previously been on this list, but Link recommended a banking center to him yesterday.

Banking centers have a traditional counter service operated by the Post Office, and community bankers from nine major banks operate on a rotating basis to support customers with their banking needs.

While deposit services allow small businesses to deposit and access cash either through deposit ATMs or post offices, where there is a separate counter for banking customers.

And they are proving popular with residents of cities without banks.

In Brixham in Devon and Rochford in Essex, towns where some of the first centers opened, three in 10 people said they visit and spend more on their local high street because of the centres, according to research by Cash Access UK.

Gareth Oakley, chief executive of Cash Access UK, said: “Our centers are proving extremely popular, proving that access to cash and banking services remains vital for millions of people across the UK, despite “More and more people are choosing to bank and make payments digitally.”