Barclays bank is located down sankeys corner. Barclays has always been the person that i bank with…read morei have never once had a problem with them. The staff there are very friendly and always make you welcome a brilliant place to be. It can get very busy in there some days especially on a Monday and a Friday I think but the staff are always happy to help you and are always sympathetic about the long wait that you have to encounter sometimes it can be upto 30 minutes. It isn't the biggest of places so just plan your day out.

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*

This is a high quality branch of Lloyds TSB and the staff are polite and friendly without exception…read morewhenever i have been there. They also have a good location on Halesowen high street and being within a few hundred metres metres of car parking space and is also accesible by foot. Queues are dealt with efficiently and there is rarely a serious wait. And it's advantage over its rivals is that its air conditioning system performs well (unlike many of the other banks in Halesowen for some reason)

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.

Once a Lloyds Bank always a Lloyds Bank…read more Even disguised as a Lloyds TSB for 14 years there was no shaking that this was sticking with its roots. The open plan counter and feeling that someone might kick off with a bank manager in a side room is something I always notice when I'm waiting to pay in here. The counter staff are always pretty helpful and the days of endless paying in paperwork are long gone. There isn't really a quiet time in this bank..as it's steady from 10am until 4pm so I don't have a fab tip for what time to visit..

UAE Exchange is a money transfer service available in many countries worldwide. However, this…read morereview is based on the Handsworth branch in Birmingham. I had never used a money transfer service previously when I first visited UAE Exchange. So when I enquired about the process, the staff were polite and helpful in how they explained the membership and transfer process. I was seen to almost immediately and within minutes I had a UAE Exchange card and had made a transfer! This branch is visited by a lot of Asian people who know little, if any, English. However, they have multilingual staff who I have seen explain their services calmly and patiently, even when the customer can be difficult. The front of the shop is very minimalist and well-maintained with a few counters. There is usually parking on the side road, which is a residential street and can get busy during the school run.

Being originally from Zimbabwe, means I have to know which foreign exchange places to visit in case…read moreI need to transfer money a.s.a.p. I normally use Western Union because that's the best place to send money via if I'm wanting funds to reach Zimbabwe. However, I did try and go to UAE Exchange to see what the service is like at this establishment. After attempting to use their service I found it wasn't really the best place to transfer money to Zimbabwe. I personally think it's best for those wanting to transfer funds to European countries or countries in Asia. You'll tend to find a lot of Asian customers looking to transfer money abroad and I think it's a great place for them to do so. Even though I didn't use their services in the end, I would recommend it to those of you who are looking to transfer money abroad.

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*

An easy walk from the library to get to this bank and its normally open on a Saturday morning which…read moreis an added bonus . However it is probably the busiest bank in Redditch. There are normally plenty of counter staff although be prepared to queue at peak times. There are plenty of staff in the other areas waiting to help you with personal banking and there is also a business banking section. There are cash machines both inside and out if you want to bypass the counters.

Barclays bank is situation away from the shops down the hill past te library. Its easy to get to if…read moreyou park a lidl and walk over( watch for the car park attendant) or cut through the market place at the back of debs. They have a large branch, with lots of counters, although they can get very, very busy at the weekends and the wait can be annoying, same in most banks. They have desk areas when you can sit with someone for help and offices for super private business.