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.

Metro Bank launched in 2010, at the time of launch they were the first high street bank to open a…read moretangible bricks and mortar branch in over 150 years, this location in Manchester was met with huge excitement when opening in 2019, mainly down to the fact this was Metro Bank's first location up North. In terms of appearance, the bank does look good, from the exterior, it is bright, modern and looks more like a casino or office building rather than a bank. Like most banks in the city, it is located on Market Street, you enter the branch through the street, however, it does make up a part of the Manchester Arndale. The bank claims they are service focused and like dealing with customers face-to-face, the biggest problem with this is that there are no in-store ATM's, this means you have to queue to do the most basic of activities such as paying in money into your account. Two machines allow you to withdraw money only, they are located just outside the branch inside the Manchester Arndale, but in terms of in-store machines, there is nothing. It can take a while to get served, they seem to always have lots of staff members around the bank, but half of them just seem to be doing nothing, sitting at tables, staring at a queue that continues to grow. Opening hours are generally the best out of any branch in the city, although they have cut down drastically since Coronavirus hit, pre-pandemic they were open until 8 pm during the week and they even were open on Sunday's. This was one of the biggest pros of Metro Bank, sadly one that may never return. 3* - It looks good, staff are nice when you can finally get served. Speed of service and lack of in-store machines offering quick and convenient banking are big cons for me.

I have been using this branch of Natwest since I've been a student and honestly, to me it has…read moreserved me good! It's in precinct centre and great for any bank work when you're right out of a lecture, considering most of the lecture buildings are right there! The bank itself has a very accommodating staff and its usually not as busy as the Natwest on Oxford Road. It's looks are also very professional and more modern than the other Natwest's amongst Wilmslow Road, which gives it a more posh look. The bank also has a cash machine inside and outside. It seems great for all students considering location and its not-so-busy atmosphere.

I wanted to open an account and was passing through this branch and thought of dropping by and…read moreenquiring. The branch is not as good as other branches which i have seen in manchester. The best branch is the one in chorlton at the four bank road. second i think is the one in withington, opposite the withington library. The staff are always good and helpfull. Sometimes though you have to wait for a while until someone comes over to help you and when the queue bulids up. But hey its credit crunch and due to redundancies etc there is a staff shortage in almost all business sector.

I was just thinking about how to start this review and was going to go with "I don't often go to…read morebank branches, but when I do..." and then I realized I was channeling the Dos Equis man. So let's not do that. Obviously, if I am in the city centre and need a bit of cash, I will seek out the Barclays machine, but I have found in the past 9 months, I have needed the services of the branch a bit more. It is a very modern looking branch with cash points outside as well as inside. There are other machines next to the cash points that are inside, but I'm not entirely sure what they are for. Every time I have been in it is very busy with a queue. My first visit actually resulted in being redirected upstairs for a staff member to assist us. Turns out my bank card had expired. Oops. I thought we would have to wait a considerable amount of time because of all the people in the waiting area, but the lady who was taking down names and reasons for the branch visit on her clipboard took us back to one of the desks and proceeded to help us. It went very quickly and the staff member was quite friendly. On my next visit, I needed to deposit a check (sorry... cheque)... but it was from the U.S. So I queued up and the first staff member pointed to one of the self-service kiosks, but I explained that I needed assistance at the International Banking desk. A second staff member came around and like the first one, tried to show me to a self-service kiosk, so I politely explained that I needed International Banking. And yet, a third staff member came over and tried pointing to the self-service kiosk, so I just held up the check. I get that the staff cannot do much since the self-service kiosks have taken over, but I think this branch needs to work on that balance as I found other customers to be quite agitated that there were all of these staff members to direct people and monitor the queue, but that they still had to stand in a queue to help themselves. The staff member at the desk was very friendly and explained that the check would take about a week to clear. On my most recent visit, I had some American dollars from my last visit to deposit into my account. Again, I needed the International Banking desk. Again, two separate members of staff tried to point me to one of the self-service machines. This time, only half (2 of 4) machines were working so the queue was really starting to build. Another problem with the queue is that there is one queue for both the International Banking desk and the self-service kiosks, so it makes it difficult for those who just want to use one of the self-service machines to to get by, especially with staff members trying to herd everyone into the same area. The staff member at the desk was a bit chatty, but was a bit snarky... perhaps a bit bitter about something. However, he was quick with the transaction. Overall, the branch has its good points and some of the staff are quite friendly and helpful, but I think it needs to find a balance with all of the staff who just seem to be loitering in the lobby while customers are queuing for some time.

Virgin Money on Market Street is in the same unit as its' predecessor B Works…read more(https://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/b-works-manchester) - it is pretty much the same bank as the main difference between the two stores is an ownership change which meant the store would be rebranded under the new Virgin Money name, who interestingly do have branches around Manchester too so this is their second store (they also have a lounge a couple of minutes away for their customers) The store does look a lot better and it does stand out now on Market Street in a part of town which is already dominated by banks including the new Metro Bank which also opened (near enough directly opposite) in December 2019 (when Virgin Money took this branch over) Right now due to complications with the merger they are only able to access the accounts of B customers and new Virgin Money customers, due to it being a complicated merger of two banks but that does plan to change in the future. The staff are as friendly as ever, the opening times are still pretty much okay and better than most other banks nearby. They also do have multiple floors which can be rented out for private functions/meetings and of course used as a work-space with drinks provided, I really do think they're doing so much better with the drinks now as since the store opened earlier this month they've always been packed with drinks compared to the former B Works store here, which would regularly run out. The mobile signal in and around the store is pretty poor which could sometimes make work difficult, the wi-fi did take a little while to connect too which was frustrating. This store is certainly a step in the right direction and is improving on a B Works store which already was pretty good, although let down by connectivity issues of wifi which for a digital-based bank should be better (even the app is one of the hardest to log-in to and it hasn't changed with the merger with the new company basically using the same app - granted it isn't this stores fault as it's the bank in general but surely worth a note).. 4*

This branch of Natwest is a fairly large store, located very close to RBS and Marks and Spencer in…read moreBolton town centre on Deansgate. The building it is located in is a huge, highly impressive building and as you walk in, due to the large and impressive nature of the building, it certainly doesn't feel like a bank. There was a decent amount of staffed tills and self service machines to withdraw and pay-in money, there could have been more however due to the size of the branch. The branch of course follows the traditional Natwest layout, with free wifi inside the store (Most banks and all Natwest stores have this now) and albeit no one welcomed me in, the staff member seemed friendly and efficent to come to my aid when having an issue paying money into my account. The impressive nature of the building makes that banking experience nicer, and this is one of my favourite Natwest branches and despite some flaws mentionef, I feel this branch deserves a mid to high three-star rating.

A rather large HSBC store on Park Row in the Financial Quarter of Leeds in the city centre, from…read morethe outside seeing this bank at first I just said "Wow", with this HSBC store really standing out in its' location due to being a huge building for a bank which generally doesn't have many branches like this. Opening hours are slightly better than average being open Monday through to Saturday between 9 and 6, albeit they open half an hour later on Tuesday (Strange as most banks open later on Wednesday's for training), and they close an hour earlier on a Saturday's, this is better than average for the area but still lacking compared to B (a brand by Yorkshire Bank) and Metro Bank stores, albeit none of them has branches in Leeds. Booking an appointment at this branch whether it's for a mortgage advisor or set up an account is pretty hard, they often require booking over two weeks in advance (compared to other banks, you can often walk in and get an account the same day, or at least within a day or two or digital banks such as Monzo which you can join from your home in under five minutes), and even then the times are limited and they only seem to let you decide between four times unless you wait another week again. - Considering this bank has longer than average opening hours to have such limited choice in appointments with the latest time always being two hours before they close, is a pretty poor show. A decent large branch of HSBC with good facilities, staff could be a little friendlier (average staff), and the appointment process needs dealing with better. 3*

This is a review of the of Park Row branch in Leeds City Centre…read more I opened a business account with HSBC last year and received okay service. Unfortunately my account manager entered my details wrong which lead to the entire account needing re-addressing and a lot of inconvenience for me, though after this was resolved service has been okay. Upon entering the building you're greeted by a member of staff, which at first seems welcoming but as a regular visitor can grind a little! The self-service machines for paying cheques in is pretty good, usually takes the heat off counter staff. Their business side is generally welcoming with staff greeting everytime and tea/coffee on offer whenever you meet with your account manager. The best thing about business banking compared with other banks is that the account is free for 3 years, and there is only a small fee for cashing cheques (which only occurs after you've reached your 20-something limit per month). Overall a decent bank offering friendly service.