"What's your bank ever done for you?" Well, there were the aqueducts... wrong script…read more.. Having a Private banking account with Natwest has offered lots of benefits over the years. Lately it seemed costs were rising & benefits getting trimmed. I was beginning to question whether this was value for money. With the opening of the private lounge at the well-placed grand central branch, the benefits look much more attractive. It's truly a lovely space in which customers can have a coffee, do some business before they catch a train, or even stay for a couple of hours and do their work. It also has a small meeting room that seats around six people which you can book out. Well done NatWest! You had me at the espresso machine, but those tasty treats as well...

Most definately the best branch of Natwest in Birmingham. Central to everything and everyone,…read moreclean, calm and organised. Of course you have to queue - it wouldn't be a bank otherwise! However you never have to wait too long here as you nearly always get served by friendly staff within 10 minutes at busy times and 5 minutes at off peak times, which as I'm sure most of you will know is pretty great for a bank. If you happen to be in the city centre and are in need of a Natwest then do visit this one!

Virgin Money on New Street replaces the B bank which previously was here, the bank has been…read morerebranded and modernised with the Virgin Money colour-scheme after Yorkshire Bank (owners of B) bought Virgin Money, taking their brand name. It is on New Street close to Odeon. This store is much better than the last one despite only showing minor differences, they now seem more willing to offer customers rather than just new-customers a hot drink, while they did seem a little understaffed; the staff that were working seemed helpful and the ATM's are faster than they were when I visited last which is good. The opening hours are pretty average, I do find them to shut far too early on a Saturday in general however at 4 pm, of course being closed on Sunday's too. Pretty decent and modern bank in the city centre, and probably one of my favourites in Birmingham too alongside Santander on Corporation Street nearby. 3*

Perhaps it isn't as modern as many of the other branches on New Street (and trust me it's a lot)…read morebut this HSBC store, located right before the crossing where you can turn left for the Grand Central, or carry on across the road for the Apple Store heading towards Colmore Row, it still is a pretty decent branch consisting of probably the most banking machines (paying in/withdrawing money) I've seen in a bank. The store is pretty large and it does offer a good deal of basic facilities, while the emphasis on digital banking is low - but considering the amount of newer and more digital banks nearby that's ok. The opening hours of 9 am to 6 pm every-day, other than Tuesday's where they open half an hour later for training and Sunday's where obviously they don't open are also amongst the best in the area. The staff seemed friendly enough. While this HSBC store doesn't really do anything that makes me scream "Wow" and it isn't overly impressive, it merely does the job with a decent range of basic facilities in a good, central Birmingham location. 3*

I have been a customer of HSBC bank for a long, long time. I originally started my account before…read morestarting University (in the days forgotten when they offered either a free railcard or a £50 cash bonus when you opened a Student account) in Newport Pagnell. My local branch was small, personal and welcoming in the little town that I grew up in; nothing like the megabank monstrosity that is on New Street. This bank had a refurb a couple of years ago to make it more "modern", but in reality they took away a good 90% of counter services and replaced it with automated ATM's and paying in machines (to minimise staffing) and add a new "business banking" section (as business customers must make them much more moolah than personal ones). This all sounds very negative, but it's a bank... It's all about money. I popped in for the first time in ages last week to pay some physical cash into my account. As I had coins, I couldn't go down the machine route and had to use counter services instead. First things first, I was greeted and aided by a member of staff (as I probably looked a little bewildered) and even though it was lunchtime, it wasn't jam packed. I duly filled in my paying in form at one of the many counters (with working pens, I might add) and mooched on over to counter services. Again, it was lunchtime, so there was a queue. That being said, I was at the counter within about 10 minutes; so no complaints there! The young lady who served me was helpful, polite and very pleasant to deal with. I had counted out the various denominations of coins and notes and she duly recounted (not being annoyed that I had made an error on my paying in form) and efficiently dealt with my enquiry. I was in and out in around 20 minutes. This was at about 1pm in the afternoon, so hat's off to the staff who kept things moving swiftly whilst still being helpful and offering service with a smile. I'm not going to tell you to use this bank necessarily (I'm sure other banks offer much better personal accounts), but if you do have cause to enter this huge temple to capitalism on New Street; it's A OK with me.

Santander on Corporation Street by Santander's standards is a fairly cool branch, it opened in July…read more2019 and inside it is pretty large and modern and goes against the typical look, layout and feel of a Santander which I feel is pretty much stuck in the past. Major flaws include the opening hours - during the week they open at 9:30 am and close at 5 pm, This is probably amongst the worst of major banks in the area, with HSBC which is a minute away both opening earlier at 9 am and closing later at 6 pm, Virgin Money which is also nearby goes a step further with hours of 9 am to 6:30 pm, which is a shame. I do also think the store seemed a little understaffed and service was slightly slow around the store. A clean modern bank branch, despite its' flaws and I'm sure it is a warm welcome to Birmingham city centre in its' new location next to Urban Outfitters on Corporation Street, just off New Street and opposite the now-vacated Vodafone unit. 3*

I have banked with TSB for over thirty years and they have always been very helpful and reliable.read more

Another one of the many banks on New Street in Birmingham city centre to have been refurbished over…read morethe past few years - the branch is a pretty decent size and is nicer than most branches of TSB, of which I find to generally have a pretty dire and outdated network of branches dating back to the split of Lloyds Bank and TSB. The opening hours (important in a bank) remain pretty much average working 9-5 Monday through Saturday and of course being closed on a Sunday, making it better than most other banks in the city. There were a decent amount of banking machines which seemed modern enough apart from the fact again that there were separate machines for paying in and withdrawing cash, I personally prefer what other banks including Natwest and B nearby use - one machine for everything which is much quicker especially if you have to withdraw cash from another bank/account and pay it in another - or if you have other banking activities to do at the same time, to avoid awkwardly swapping machines which takes more times especially during peak times. The staff here didn't stand out, there wasn't really anyone greeting or offering to help customers either at the front of the store or in a queue, but the branch is still a pretty modern, cool and spacious one and isn't terrible, in many ways it is better than other banks nearby, but in others it is worse. 3*

I called at Lloyds Bank while shopping in Birmingham to simply do some basic banking at the ATM…read moremachines, knowing I can do near enough everything here I can at my bank, being a member of TSB, who are part of the same "banking group" as Lloyds but in the past few years split, after previously trading together. I didn't have any interactions with the staff so can't comment on that in detail, but they seemed okay. They was a decent number of cash machines inside, which were easy to use and in good condition. The inside of the bank was quite nice and modern, and I'm sure I remember seeing a second floor as well, there were machines for paying in money and withdrawing it, your typical ATM'S. This is a nice bank to have in a city center of a town like Birmingham, fairly close to the New Street Train Station too and a short walk from the Bullring and Grand Central, and I have to agree with the average rating for this place that it deserves a solid 3 stars!

Seems strange reviewing a bank. LloydsTSB have moved from one location on New Street to the corner…read moreof Corporation & New St opposite Waterstones. What we have here is a large open plan banking experience in bright green trade marked Lloyds Colours. There are 2 desks for info, a number of tills and seated areas to wait or sit and complete your banking before joining the que. There are a number of self service deposit machines and letter boxes if you wanted to avoid queing.