There are a couple of reasons why this is the best bank I've visited full stop:…read more The staff are polite, friendly and courteous. The branch is clean, small and easy to get to. The queues are short and it's easy to pay money and cheques in. The cash-points inside and out always have money and mini-statements, even on Bank Holidays. The best point however, is their excellent customer service. Every time I've asked about opening or closing a bank account, they've been able to help me out on the spot. They also seem knowledgable about the business bank accounts with Bank of Scotland - Halifax's sister bank - unlike all the other branches in the city!

Every time I go to this branch of Halifax it usually annoys me…read more The staff are slow. There's always a queue. And whenever you ask the customer service rep for advice, they usually go and ask someone else and then return, a few minutes later saying they didn't know either! Trust me, I've experienced this on a handful of different occasions. This morning however, I experienced the exact opposite. The staff were acute and helpful. They actually knew the interest rates and had leaflets on the different accounts. There was only one lady waiting infront of me. And the guy behind the counter tried to chat me up.

This Halifax branch provides a handy cash point right at the bottom of North Street, facing Old…read moreSteine, and is frequented by many a pre-night out/ mid-night out student as they get off the 25 and head either up North Street or towards the seafront. They used to have this distorting mirror on the door when shut in the evenings, which was always good fun with beer goggled eyes. These days, I'm no longer a student, and the mirrored door is no longer there. Still, the cashpoint provides a useful service as the next bank - North Street's Natwest - is a good three minute stumble up the road.

HSBC's main branch serving Brighton centre is located close to the buses on North Street, it is an…read moreaverage sized branch by HSBC standards, albeit smaller than locations I'm more of a "regular" too such as Manchester St Ann's and Liverpool. The store has a good amount of seating and express banking machines, although I didn't like the fact that there were too many different machines for different things, such as for paying in cash and cheques and withdrawing it, considering nearly every other bank does it all in one machine now, with probably Halifax and the Lloyds Banking Group the only exception, I don't like this approach as it is confusing and slightly time-consuming depending on if you need to queue and switch between machines. There is also a small counter, which is slightly hidden into the back of the store, the waits didn't seem to be too long. Open 9-5 Monday to Saturday, the hours are pretty generic and common, but with many local banks shutting earlier especially on Saturday's, the opening hours are pretty decent here and the minimum of how they should be for a bank. Decent bank. 3*

Like the Falmer HSBC, this place is very good as banks go. There are loads of free cash machines…read moreand it's the most easily accessed place for free cash withdrawals on this end of the North Laine. There's usually a queue for the counter, but never a long wait. And there're always plenty of staff on hand in the week to help with whatever (new accounts, internet banking, loans...).

I have been banking with Natwest in Emsworth for 28 years and I have never had any problems in this…read morebranch, the staff are very friendly and they know most people by name that use the branch alot. Appointments are easy to get and the advice is very good.

I'm not sure it's possible to rate a bank as more than three stars, let alone one I've never…read moreactually been in - so, as bank go, Nationwide, yer alright! My actual reason for commenting on this particular branch is that I feel the profile of its two outdoor cashpoints needs raising - why are there always huge queues outside the neighbouring Lloyds TSB cashpoint and yet nobody ever using this one? Beats me.

This is a very, very busy branch since Nationwide took over the Portman Building Society. Its…read morereceived quite a bit of investment, so there's a fair few holes-in-the-wall available. And there's often at least one greeter on duty, who will either demonstrate the machines or see to a query, so that the queue is often a little shorter than it looks. However, the level of expertise of the staff seems to have gone down in recent years, and the regard for privacy. I recently had a member of staff come to see me in the banking hall, rather than taking me to one of the glass-walled interview rooms. And a cashier who was taciturn to the point of . well, not quite rudeness, but not far off. I think its a teething problem with integrating the Portman customer, I hope it is, anyway, because its a good company with good products, very centrally located with a lot of facilities available on a Saturday, when most of us need them most.

This particular HSBC branch is pretty handy if you live in this end of town, as it offers most…read morefacilities larger branches do with the bonus of usually being dead quiet. In fact this dead quietness can go the other way sometimes - as in you may go in for a quick query and get way more attention than you intended/than you were in the mood for! When I lived near Seven Dials I went to chat to someone about setting up a joint bank account, and I went another time for a bank draft - both times I was sat down at a desk whilst a very patient member of staff chatted to me - one time she even stayed a bit past closing time to finish something! I'm not too fussed about this face-to-face thing, being of the internet age where it's just a bit of a chore to have to physically do something! But I appreciate this is important to some people, and it was certainly a refreshing change to the fast paced city centre banks. All in all, my best banking experience!

This is quite a quiet branch in some ways, but it has most of the modern automated machinery that…read morewe really need from our banking services these days. I think this would be one of the best branches to come to if you needed to have an appointment to talk over your financial situation - they have the usual expertise, but seem to have a better ratio of staff to customers than usual. And there's very rarely a queue. Its just outside the main reach of shops around Seven Dials - must be all of three minutes away, towards Shoreham Road, so still very accessible. There are ATMs outside too.

I use the Natwest on London Road most of the time but this is the largest Natwest in Brighton and…read morethe most central so I stop in here when I'm in town. As it's the largest Natwest it also feels very impersonal, not aided by it being in a grand building- a lovely building but impersonal. The size though means lots of staff and a string of cashiers desk- so quick service and queuing for a minimum of time. It's a bank so I don't have much more to say!

It really is quite a strange place to have a cash machine here, it's like the designers want you to…read moreget mugged, though the chances of something like that happening at Sussex Uni are pretty slim. I'm never sure if people actually work in there, because you never see them, and I find the whole bell thing pretty disconcerting. Poor workers. You have to ask, just what is it that they are doing up there which they don't want us to see?Planning financial meltdowns would be my guess...damn people. Good if your in a rush, and can spot the ever inflating queue outside Lloyds.

For some reason the cash points here always seem to remain vacant even when the one at the Lloyds…read moretwo minutes away has a ten-fifteen minute waiting list. I'm not absolutely sure why this is. Perhaps it's ever so slightly secluded location protects it from the masses; perhaps it's only visible when perused from a 39 degree angle; or perhaps students really are so lazy, they refuse to walk an extra couple of yards to save themselves some time. Who knows? Regardless, I recommend this branch to all cash machine fiends, eager to play the great ATM lottery - insert card; bash screen wildly; see how much you've won -. There's at least four points to choose from and barrels of laughs to be had. Inside, the service is fine, however, on occasion, I've meandered inwards only to find no staff around, the place bare, and only a little bell for company. Pressing of this friendly little metal accessory does eventually result in the magical appearance of HSBC personal, but sometimes the wait can be tediously long.