Worst bank ever! It's apparently not easy to open a bank account in UK but they are at least…read morefriendly and advise you what you need. (Barclays bank, Lloyd Bank etc). I was referred to TSB by a friend and I had the right documents with me, the customer service person that I was assigned to was unprofessional and very slow, kept repeating the questions and the purpose of why I need a bank account etc. But it was still running smoothly. I am a European Citizen, however as soon as he found out I was born in the middle east the questioning came out! I was being interrogated and it looked more like a CIA interview. He said he needs to ask me more questions (due to sanctions in the motherland) and I will have my answer in a few days if I got approved to this crap bank. He kept repeating the same questions over and over and if I were taking/transferring money from the Middle East etc. I had enough and asked to talk to the supervisor, still no customer service there and she said the same thing. I told them to withdrawal my application and left to another bank, which helped me right away and got my new account! No extra questions asked!!!!! Racist worker, crappy customer service, ugly depressing premises. I am used to US customer service and I must say this had been the worst customer experience in UK so far.

I'd just popped in to open a TSB Classic Plus account (5% interest on up to£2,000! - with £500 per…read moremonth) after making some changes to my Lloyds account and was blown away by the differences between the two branches nearby to each other. Much larger and airier than the nearby Lloyds Branch, and as many staff as there were customers. I wouldn't pick accounts based on In-Branch service anyway, but in judging them on this, I was incredibly impressed, especially in contrast to my earlier experience.

This branch of Santander is one of the many banks I visited during my time in London, it is a nice,…read moremodern store and a pretty average of size, right next to Green Park Underground, it is also next to M&S Simply Food and Metro, a rival bank on Piccadilly, London. The store is modern and had a decent number of machines for basic banking, such as withdrawing and paying in cash/cheques and more. The bank had a nice, modern feel to it, and it is probably one of my favourite Santander branches in the city, with Santander branches tending to be a little dull, old-fashioned and uninspiring, this branch in most cases was different. Opening hours (AGAIN) are a big flaw for this bank, it is something I've found common in London to a degree that the branch is only open 9-5 on weekends, again opening an hour later on Wednesday's. It's like living in a foreign land, being 2 hours on the train up north in Manchester, I'm used to banks being open all day Saturday too with the occasional Sunday opening (Lloyds Bank and TSB on Market Street, Manchester), and find it ridiculous that yet again this is another bank which works the old-fashioned, generic hours which really don't suit 2019. Put that in comparison, Metro Bank which is next store is open 8-8 (TWELVE HOURS!) during the week, closing at 6 on Saturday's, and opening at Sunday Trading Hours on Sunday (11-5) 3* - pretty modern bank, average sized in a good location but let down by opening hours and other minor factors.

Clean, easy, efficient. This Barclay's branch is right next to Spitalfields and that gives it a…read morebonus star for me. And an outside cashpoint that works. Who knew such a thing was possible? Sadly, not open on Saturday.

This is one of the best Barclays branches i have come across so far in London…read more Because the queue is never very long and the staff are super nice and smiley which always helps to brighten up ones day. Service with a smile that's what I like.

Nationwide is the UK's largest building society, I called at this branch after I had some trouble…read morewith Natwest across the way, the branch is located on Portman Square and is fairly close to Oxford Street, London. The branch is open at the standard draconian hours of banking which really shouldn't be the case in a central location in a city like London, open only on weekdays: working 9-5 what a (bad) way to do your bankin'. The branch inside is pretty small, and there isn't really any seating, the queuing system to get help seemed to be poorly managed and the store seemed to be understaffed, with probably the least staff I've seen in a Nationwide branch. They did have cash machines to do your banking activities such as requesting a mini statement, and paying in and withdrawing funds, two infact, which was so much better than Natwest across the way who had a machine older than my grandma, which couldn't process the new style polymer banknotes, which entered circulation THREE YEARS AGO - in 2016. Useful location of Natwest, one of the better banks in Portman Square but still below average for a bank in terms of facilities, service and opening hours. 2*

4 stars because I think Nationwide are pretty awesome overall, and this branch does a decent job of…read morekeeping my affections in place. You can come here for all the usual stuff - deposits, cash, new bank accounts. Staff have always been chatty, friendly and once or twice they even crack a joke. It's a nice experience. However, they don't have a mortgage service here and that's a shame (hence the loss of a star). It's also surprisingly hard to find a Nationwide branch anywhere in the city which is open outside of 9-5 Monday to Friday and that's tricky when you work full time, but want to talk to someone in detail about a mortgage or insurance product. I'd love for this branch to offer more services and private meeting rooms - even if just for one or two days a week or one evening, which would mean I don't have to take a day off to go to Fenchurch St to have my appointment. Also in this day and age, banks should be open longer, or on a Saturday morning at least.

A small Lloyds Bank store in central London, located on Piccadilly in the Mayfair area of the city,…read morea short walk away from Piccadilly Circus. It is pretty much an average bank, by all means, open weekdays (Shame this bank doesn't have weekend openings at all!). The bank's floor is a satisfactory size with some basic banking machines to conduct banking activities and two separate counters (confusing?) if you have a more complex issue or need a personalised approach, the staff seemed friendly and happy to help. The opening hours aren't great, the bank shuts early than most other banks I'm used to at 4:30 pm, and of course the fact they close on weekends isn't too great either. I did like how the store had an upper floor including a balcony, I presume this is down to it being a listed building and I saw no sign of this part of the building being used, perhaps it's for a staff area, business banking or something? A decent bank, it does have letdowns including having two counters which can get a little confusing and messy, and the opening hours but convenient in its' location, considering it is a short walk away from the Green Park end of Piccadilly (as I recall the nearest other banks where there are a Santander and Metro Bank) 3*

I've just recently moved to London from the US and was having a hell of a time getting settled in,…read moremost of which was caused by not being able to procure a UK bank account. It's a bit of a roundabout issue here where you can't get decent housing without a bank account and you can't get a bank account without decent housing. I had no idea that the credit check done on you is actually done on your place of residence and the credit attached there, not necessarily all just you. Very frustrating. At my wits end, and after going to several banks in and around Soho (and getting very rude and exasperated responses to my questions - as if I was doing something wrong by moving to London and not knowing my way around the financial system), I came across this HSBC in Chinatown. Bruce is my HERO. Not only was he completely accommodating to my mistake of thinking an appointment was way earlier than it actually was, he was very reassuring, informative, patient, kind, and most of all, funny. Thank you so much Bruce for easing my final transition into London life and helping me feel like a productive adult once again. You were the only one out of several bank employees in Soho that didn't treat me like an idiot and instead like a friend. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, and most of all, appreciate you alleviating all the stress from this last stage. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

One of two Natwest branches on Victoria Street, this is the branch towards the "Victoria" end of…read morethe street, fairly close to both Westminster Cathedral and Victoria Underground Station (Cardinal Place entrance). The branch is set out like a typical newer Natwest store, it is fairly modern and large inside, with a reasonable amount of seating and of course free wifi, which is the case of any bank worth its' salt. Unlike most nearby banks, this bank is open on a Saturday but it closes really early at 2 pm, which is only for four hours which still is pretty poor, pathetic and lazy. I didn't like the set up of the cash machines, albeit there was a good number of cash machines, there was some sort of table right in front of them, making it slightly awkward to use them. The branch, unlike the slightly smaller Natwest store at the other end of Victoria Street, didn't have any particular Unique decor for its' location, which is quite common for Natwest branches and I feel makes the branch feel a little more special, rather than typical. Alongside the staff not seeming too outgoing to help, opening hours and this, I feel a laziness aspect of this bank showing a lot here. 3* - Decent and large modern branch of Natwest in a good location. Does it stand out to another Natwest branch to impress me enough? No.

A bank with methods and working practices very different than the ones we are familiar in the…read moreUSA.zIt literally feels as stepping back to the times gone by. Slow service,not the most helpful of employees that you would come around and the worse comes when you need to withdraw cash.You are instantly treated as a potential cheater,fraudster or crook.Those people should come align to the 21 st century customer relations and practices and if needed retrained preferably by Americans or send for internship in US banks.