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.

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.

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.

This branch of Natwest is located in Oldham town centre, it is basically right next to the new…read moreOdeon Cinema / old town hall, and the Natwest its-self is an old building, in a way it feels like an old town hall its-self. The branch is accessible up a ramp or some steps and there is some interesting features from the original building. The branch has cash machines inside and out, and also free wi-fi, which seemed decent although sadly unlike my regular branch at Manchester City centre, or even sometimes at Middleton there wasn't a meet and greet service to get you in the right queue to get to the right person / offer assistance which was a shame. The overall counters were slightly old fashioned compared to other stores. This branch is probably nicer than the RBS store also, with this branch having multiple cash machines inside and out, compared to RBS which is a smaller store with only one cash machine outside, both of them are really closely linked together to the point where some aspects of Natwest's features such as GetCash also work at RBS. They are of course both in the same banking group. I didn't have any close dealings with staff to comment, however, they didn't seem too interactive and welcoming as they were in other branches, there was very few staff despite it being a relatively busy time. Overall, this branch is okay, it is better than multiple banks in Oldham including RBS, but I'm struggling to think of reasons for this bank to warrant anything over 2 stars with the main let down being the service.

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!

Very helpful, friendly staff. Always pleanty of staff about to help you with anything you need. The…read morereception staff are friendly and very knowledgeable, always happy to help with any quiries. Pleanty of staff at the counter which keeps the ques running smoothly, they never rush you when serving and always willing to deal with any problems you have. They have a quick deposit inside the branch, cash machines inside and outside, and pleanty of leaflets explaing all their products on show. Very effiecent.