One of the many banks on Sheffield's Fargate, this HSBC store is located close to Three and…read moreopposite Virgin Money in the centre of town. It is a fairly spacious branch but a lot of that space just seems to be empty space - it isn't too nice or modern and it just isn't utilised well. Good staffing levels but the staff didn't seem too friendly or eager to help. They had one of the larger selections of banking machines / ATM's compared to other nearby banks which I liked. The branch opening hours are slightly confusing but they remain pretty much average, including better than many banks nearby including Lloyds - On most days they open at 9 and close at 6 including on Saturday with the only difference being that they close at 5 pm on Thursday's and Saturday's, and open half an hour later on Tuesday's. In terms of ATM levels and opening hours one of the best banks in the city, in terms of overall feel it is lacking to my favourite banks in Sheffield which include nearby Halifax, Natwest and Virgin Money stores, despite being the fourth best in overall feel, it is amongst the best in other factors so is pretty much A-OK. 3*

Now, with the state of the economy, I'd normally be the first one to give the banks a good verbal…read moreshoeing but with this branch of HSBC, I really have nothing to say. It's fully equipped with all the latest fancy paying in machines which sometimes have a queue, but the front of house staff are always working hard to help people out and keep the queues moving. The financial teams are also wonderful if you ever have a query or want to change something to do with your account and there really is no hard-sell. Keep it up HSBC!

Virgin Money is a financial services brand and is similar to, but is not exactly a "bank", but they…read moredo offer many banking products from E-ISA's to savings accounts, current accounts, credit cards and more. I personally find many Virgin Money branches from Middleton to Leeds and more to be rather dull and lack facilities you'd find in an average bank, but then the unique Virgin Money locations like this one come along, and they go above and beyond the average bank on many levels. Lounges like this were the main reason I recently opened an account with Virgin Money, even though there branch network (number of branches and quality), as well as other factors, do lack to the competition and this is one of the seven Virgin Money Lounge locations they do have. It is quite large, in Sheffield city centre on Fargate, it is within walking distance of multiple Supertram services from Castle Square and Cathedral. I did have some issues registering with the lounge which was mainly down to having no proof of my account deemed suitable, I was told they needed proof I had money in my savings account but as I recently opened it I had trouble, I couldn't find any email before I was told to log into my online banking to show, this was even more troublesome because Virgin Money doesn't have a mobile app, causing me to have to log-in to their website, I then experienced multiple error messages so I spent much longer than I had to in the bank - They really do need to make the sign up process easier, as, in the end, it took so long the kind staff allowed me to go in and get a drink - It shouldn't take so long to sign up especially after entering my details online and making them aware I was coming in by a phone call, but I get this is down to issues with Head Office which is probably beyond the exact branch here in Sheffield's control. The lounge area was pretty cool, it had multiple tables and access to hot drinks, I found the selection of teabags to be quite good, albeit the selection of cold drinks was rather lacking, it mainly consisted of cheap cordial. The opening hours of the branch isn't great either considering a lounge is supposed to be a nice, relaxing experience you can spend the day and work - It still follows the average hours of a bank, closing between 4 pm and 7 pm depending on the day of the week (very confusing opening times, 5 different sets depending on the day of the week) I also didn't like how the Lounge and Banking area was too separated and involved a lift to get in-between and how the lounge staff only had limited access to banking, meaning to get certain material you'd have to go to a different area when it would be so easy to have it all on one system, surely? The Virgin Money lounge is such an exciting and cool idea and does show innovation, it is similar and probably worse than the services offered by B Works in Manchester which is so much quicker and easier to use. 3* as it is a cool and spacious place, but the layout (banking and lounge separate, the same business but not interlinked with computers), poorer selection than hyped and difficult wifi to connect to (Come on Virgin you are the one of the largest ISP's in the UK for goodness sake)

I love coming to virgin lounge to relax from work before shopping and meeting new people and made…read morenew friends always clean and comfortable chairs in lounge as you enter good choice of drinks herbal teas staff are very friendly courteous and helpfull toilets are very clean enjoy the events they put on my fav place in town.

Lloyds Bank has a large number of branches in Sheffield, with two branches in the centre of the…read moreSouth Yorkshire city alone, this branch is located on "High Street", fairly close to other banks including Halifax and Natwest, it is also really close to the Cathedral and Stagecoach Supertram services. The building is pretty dark and old fashioned, I originally thought this branch was closed upon approaching it, only to find out it just was a pretty dark and gloomy store. Opening hours are pretty decent/average, 9-5 during the week, closing an hour early on Saturday's, opening hours are amongst the best in the area, staying open later on Saturday's than Halifax for example, and opening earlier on a Wednesday than Natwest. There was an ample amount of cash machines inside the branch to do basic banking, but again the queuing area and banking counter could do with a slight refurb. Satisfactory facilities, good opening hours but in a not so good environment, unlike Natwest across the way I wasn't greeted in branch or offered assistance which is normally common in banks, and it's a shame it isn't here. 2*

Yorkshire Bank on Fargate is the main branch serving Sheffield in the city centre, and it is also…read moreone of five branches in the Sheffield region (within 13.7 miles of the branch, albeit 4/5 are within five miles). The branch from the outside looks like a huge, old building which is prominent and stands out on Fargate, the bank even has two different automatic doors to get in, one appears to lead to offices and promotes Yorkshire Bank's brand B, a new digital bank who is one of the people I bank with. The staff in the branch didn't seem too friendly, they didn't seem too outgoing and willing to help with any problems. I had problems using the ATM where after going through the process of inserting my card, entering my pin, I had problems, there were a good amount of these machines but that is irrelevant if they aren't working properly and the staff don't seem to care if anything goes wrong. The branch inside the main area seemed pretty modern, and there was a small selection of seating and free wi-fi, as one would expect from any bank. This branch of Yorkshire Bank on Fargate, Sheffield stands out, and with that, it provides expectations which aren't marked by working facilities (banking machines) and the staff (understaffed, and seem too busy to help!) 2*

Banks in malls are a rare yet strange thing, however Meadowhall seems to have a few of them…read moreincluding TSB, RBS, Halifax and of course this branch of Santander. As I recall it is in the 'Arcade' part of the mall, on the upper floor and is opposite Waterstones and next to the large Marks and Spencer store. From the outside the bank surprised me, it looked rather nice and modern through the use of glass, yet inside it felt a little more relaxed/basic. I recently joined Santander and despite that I've still managed to visit a fair few of branches, from the outside this appears to be the most modern, yet inside it is one of the smaller stores. The store has a decent number of ATM machines which can be used for most banking services of a basic nature such as withdrawing and paying in cash, yet not including £5 notes or coins. The staff at this store didn't appear to be great nor welcoming I'm sorry to report. A decent yet merely average branch warranting a rating towards the higher end of two-stars.

Santander on Fargate is located in Sheffield city centre, with so many other rival banks nearby…read morewith nearly every major banking chain in the UK has a branch within a five-minute walk of this branch. The store is pretty average, it's spacious with a larger seating area than most banks which I liked, a great place perhaps to sit down while shopping or passing through the city to relax for a few minutes or do some online banking, if you're a Santander customer like me. I liked how they had their targets on digital screens compared to paper which most other branches of Santander or any other bank for that matter seem to use, it made the whole thing stand out more, and seem more modern. They didn't have any coin processing facilities at the ATM machines, so you'd have to queue up for that, I would have liked more staff on the floor to offer assistance without the need to queue, as the store felt understaffed without it. The bank is nice, with some modern features however and pretty spacious. 3*

I have banked with abbey for 4 years and always find the staff friendly and helpful. I have never…read morewaited long to be served and find that when it is busy they will always try to get other staff to serve.

Absolutely rubbish. Spent more than half of my lunch hour waiting in line at Royal Bank of…read moreScotland to put some cash in the bank. There were 4 cashier desks - THREE OF WHICH WERE CLOSED. There was a long queue. Three in front of me were two elderly ladies with walking sticks linking arms (perhaps for support???), one in front of me was an elderly man with a walking stick and two behind me was a man with a walking stick. Posters all over about bank "improvements" - sadly this does not mean they are getting more staff to deal with the queues, it means there will be NO CASHIERS AT ALL to deal with cash payments and it will be staffed only with people who, depending on what you need, may not be able to help you at all because you want to put cash in. Clearly people still need cashiers, if they didn't there wouldn't have been a long line of people - all who were asked "if you're putting a cheque in I can help you over here"..... only one person took up that offer, the rest remained in line. If the staff can't see what improvements need to be made in this instance, there's no helping them!! I have the same problem everytime I go to this bank. Every single time people complain to the staff who CANNOT HELP THEM BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DEPOSIT CASH, NOT A CHEQUE, customers tut and shake their heads and complain to each other. Are staff feeding this to their managers to feed back to the area managers???? Probably not, there has been no improvement in all the time I have been going to the branch. I'm now looking to bank with someone who doesn't believe in putting people out of work and can see how to make improvements to the bank by GETTING MORE STAFF!!!!

Nationwide is a fairly new addition to Meadowhall, which is close to Marks and Spencer on the upper…read morelevel of the large shopping centre. Nationwide is obviously the largest building society in the UK and it is one of many banks/building societies within the mall and of course the newest, it does feel modern the store has a pretty good feel to it too but while it has staff it has no counter service which is a bummer, as this means while you can pay in and out of your account in-store and ask questions and possibly even set up an account in one of the unique, innovative mini houses, you can't do counter services such as paying in coins, which was my main purpose of my visit. The opening hours are pretty good, while it does open a little late at 10 am which I still find to be reasonable, it opens until 6:30 pm during the week which is much later than banks in Sheffield city centre and while it is generally in line with other banks around the mall other than TSB, it is pretty useful to see them opening later. 3* - Good opening hours to suit its' location which includes opening late during the week and opening at retail hours on Sunday, the branch has a nice and modern feel to it but it is surely let down by lack of counter services and lack of coin facilities.