Halifax is probably one of the nicer, larger, more modern banks in Middleton, and it does have a…read morelot of competition, with Santander, TSB, Natwest, HSBC and RBS all being in the area, and they is also a Virgin Money store, which means in such a small area, they is so much competition, and as it is such a small area (Middleton), they all must be within a 5 minute walk (if that) of each other, and is a great place to conclude my 400th review challenge for 2015 as it shows my commitment to adding and reviewing local businesses in Middleton. This branch is probably one of the moder modern stores, the store is quite large with manned desks, as well as cash-machines and paying in machines (and envelopes), both inside the store. This is good as it means you don't have to queue for long just to pay money in, with a machine. The queues here never seem to be too long, and the building is quite nice, unlike the old building at my bank of TSB. Halifax have quite a few rooms available for meetings and setting up accounts, I guess and seating outside them, however they seem to be right in the bank, and they are not separated, so it isn't the nicest place to go in these rooms, compared to Lloyds Bank on Market Street in Manchester for example. The staff here seem okay, obviously as a banker with TSB, I have never really had any confrontations with them. This bank is pretty much your average bank, and it is one of the nicer banks in Middleton, however still it isn't the nicest of banks and it can be a little confusing in a way with more than one counter. This bank does stand out from the rest of Middleton, being one of the larger, more modern banks compared to old fashioned TSB and HSBC, however still it isn't as large as other banks such as Halifax and Natwest, and although this is one of the nicer banks in Middleton, due to some problems mentioned in this review and a few other minor flaws, I still don't feel it deserves more than 2 stars as it basically serves as a local bank, not a mecca for Halifax bankers, and although I can't really expect that from a bank in a small town, I still want to expect more, as they is much nicer banks in other locations so why is Middleton getting the short straw?

I like HSBC's Manchester city-centre branch, it is located in St Ann's Square, opposite the Royal…read moreExchange Theatre, it is fairly large for a bank, over multiple floors, with a counter service on the upper level, yet there are still ATM's and staff members who can answer basic questions as you go into the store. I find the staff here to be pretty friendly and helpful, they can help regarding both HSBC and First Direct accounts. I could easily pay in money, even though I had forgotten my card, as I had access to my online banking portal. The branch feels fairly modern overall, I like the "This is Manchester" branding on the exterior window and the overall look/feel of the branch. I do find their opening hours to be a little restrictive, especially on weekends, they close at 1 pm on Saturday and then they're closed until Monday, during the week the hours are the standard 9 - 5. 4* - Good bank branch in the centre of town for HSBC and First Direct customers and one I'll surely be returning to in the not so distant future.

I never thought I'd be giving a bank a 5 stars, especially when it's never showing up the ideal…read morebank balance. But this HSBC is the best HSBC I've come across all around the country. And I've been to a few. It's got quite a few floors which probably meets a lot of different banking needs. There's always lots of staff looking to help you, answer your question, direct you to a floor or one of the most easiest, self-sufficient pieces of machinery ever made to man. Most of the time going to the bank is a hectic, painful experience. But it's made ever so easier at St Ann's.

Barclays Bank in Middleton is quite a nice bank, albeit, it does look old-fashioned from the…read moreoutside due to the building it is in, and then as you walk into the Bank as they is a sort of corridor and a staff staircase, before entering the main shop floor, it is quite modern on the shop floor. Barclays bank are quite a large bank in the UK, and around the world, being founded 325 years ago and since then earning a place in the FTSE 100 index on the London Stock Exchange. Talking more about this branch, once you have braced the more old-fashioned parts, the actual shop floor is quite nice and has been refurbished in the past year or two, and is much nicer than it previously was when I last seemed to go in. The bank also has free wi-fi, without a long sign-up required, although I'm sure you still need to confirm you want to join and perhaps an email address, but it is quick to set-up and good signal too, and could be used next store or even while waiting for the bus at the bus stop opposite, which I found to be helpful for me, having used by 2048MB of data allowance while waiting for a bus, wanting to connect to wi-fi to browse Yelp. The staff here don't seem to stand out, but they seem okay and nicer than some other branches I have visited, but they were just average. This bank is quite a nice bank for a small town, albeit it isn't perfect it does deserve a solid 3 stars!

Although I don't bank with HSBC I do call in once a year to pick up our airshow tickets which they…read moresell on behalf of RAF Waddington, This is a great branch located on union street just past sainsburys on the corner. A really supurb looking branch from the outside and inside. The staff are efficent and really know what they are doing and are happy to help with any quiries. Last time I was in the member of staff I first dealt with didn't know about the airshow tickets but was very happy to go and find out and sort it out for me, she was very talkative and was interested to know about the airshow and although I had to wait a while I didn't get the feeling that I was being a pest.

One of the few remaining banks in Middleton with a large number now closing, the service here has…read morealways been pretty good, while the branch services are limited, for example, they don't have an indoor cash machine and the opening hours are pretty poor at weekends (Closing at 1 pm on Saturday and closed fully on Sunday), it's still a pretty good TSB branch. It would be nice to see this branch being improved and modernised similar to my favourite local TSB branch on Manchester - Market Street. 3*

This bank of Yorkshire Bank is one of the many banks in Rochdale town centre, it is located on…read moreYorkshire Street which actually is well suited to the bank due to the name of the bank and street being similar, hence is oddly satisfying and rolls off the tongue better than other banks nearby on Yorkshire Street such as HSBC. Open between Monday and Saturday 9:15 - 4:30 pm, the opening hours of this bank are the first thing which stands out to be, as they're very restrictive, with many other banks opening and closing later, with 9 am to 5:30 pm is much more common in larger cities and even other banks in the town of Rochdale. The bank its-self is slightly old fashioned and not too impressive in terms of technology with a lack of machines to do everyday banking such as paying in and withdrawing money, with a slightly larger emphasis on counter service, and on previous visits the service does slightly lack without too many members of staff on to greet and assist customers, sadly this is slightly typical of banks in small towns as well as the opening hours, but it is perhaps worse off at this particular branch of Yorkshire Bank. In a town with a large number of banks, with this particular branch being 2 stores away from Barclays and opposite Halifax and HSBC, with others including Santander and Natwest not too far away, I can't help but feel this bank has been left behind and isn't moving with the times, with mediocre technology, service and overall feel - I'm struggling here in determining a ranking as it does provide a Yorkshire Bank branch in a time where many are closing down (it is worth noting a new, modern branch under the name B Works did open a few weeks ago nearby in Manchester city centre), but still other than providing a much needed branch of a chain on a street which matches the banks name more than any other, I can't think of many other positives, and if I was a member of Yorkshire Bank, rather than going in hoping to use a cash machine and getting information on a savings account (once again service was poor), I sadly feel a one-star rating is warranted.

Having recently become a customer at Natwest, I've begin to do many banking activities at many…read morestores and one of the latest of them is this one on Deansgate, inside the Spinningfields area of Manchester city centre, next store is the huge RBS banking group building which also includes a branch of Natwest's sister bank RBS. This branch inside was quite nice, it felt up to date in terms of technology, with a good amount of cash and paying in machines, which was good - however... the staff here were quite poor, there was no meet and greet service despite there being not a lot of customers in the store, I wasn't welcomed as I would have been in other branches which is a shame. I mainly came in here to use the cash machine to transfer money between my accounts and this was easy enough to do, is the same machine as Natwest stores nationwide such as my local stores in Manchester city centre and Middleton. This store is slightly nicer than my local Manchester City centre store, however, it is much smaller, with the city centre store being out of date, with computers often running Windows XP, the branch just feels old, however, I hope this can change when they relocate on the corner of Market Street, however that is a different review of a different branch of Natwest, albeit probably the closest nearby branch to this one. Overall, this branch is okay and for convenience, I feel 2 stars is a worthy rating for this business, but it is a slightly small branch, perhaps even smaller than the Oldham store, and while also considering the poor staff, I feel this branch is only worth a two star rating. UPDATE: Due to an improved standard of customer service on a recent visit, and the fact this is probably nicer and quieter than the more central branch in Manchester, I feel this branch deserves a three star rating as until the new store of Natwest opens in the city centre, this is probably going to be the nicer, more modern and quieter branch.

This is the closest branch to my office so I called in to make an apointment during my lunch break…read more I provided my details so that someone could call me to set up an appointment, however a week passed and I'd hear nothing. I decided to try again a week later as I really needed to sort out my finances. I had to wait for a short period before being seen to, and it just so happens that I was seen to by the General Manager. I raised a complaint about not receiving a call back after leaving my details and I was informed that this would be looked into and I received multiple apologies. The computer at the pod we were sat in decided to freeze, but i was quickly transferred to a private room and eveyrthing I needed sorting was done and dusted within 35 mintues. After the initial disappointment I feel that I was treated with the upmost respect and it was very clear that the staff were sorry for what happened and that the matter would be bought up with the person to blame. All in all, I would return there.

went to Mosley st branch today's very pleasant experience from Sadiyah at the counter. what a…read morelovely lady she was. made me feel very welcoming and made conversation which I find nice. thank you again Sadiyah

One of three branches in the city centre, this is probably my favourite out of the three (Given the…read morequality of Barclays' branches overall that doesn't say much). The location on Mosley Street is in between Piccadilly Gardens and St Peter's Square. The bank is open between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm weekdays, opening half an hour later on Wednesday's. I do find it frustrating that they close their counter service an hour early, and do not open at all on weekends, as the opening hours generally see them close earlier than most banks around the city centre anyway. Despite claiming to have indoor ATM's online, they do NOT. They do have some banking machines in branch, where you can withdraw cash, but these are different machines to ATM's, as a friendly employee explained to me. As someone who hates using outdoor ATM's, this is a deal-breaker for me. 3* - Basic bank, reasonable location yet still leaving me regretful of joining Barclays in the first place.

TSB's modern branch on Manchester's Market Street is one of the only reasons I still bank with TSB,…read morein terms of overall facilities, ease of in-branch experience and service, it is one of the best banks within the city centre which is quite impressive considering it might not be as large or offer anything different such as Virgin Money, Lloyds Bank and Metro Bank nearby. This store seems to do the basics very well rather than introducing other stuff which leads to a lower standard of everything else. The account and product knowledge is also pretty good, and the opening hours of the store are also pretty good, being open on Sunday's and even having the longest opening hours (Until 4 pm) in the city during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, a title shared with Metro Bank. Unlike nearby Natwest, they don't have coin processing facilities unless you complete a paying-in slip which I find a little old fashioned (having to complete and post a paying in envelope) 4*