Two Kent branches of Santander will close by the end of August in response to the ongoing shift by customers towards mobile and online banking.

The banking giant, which is shutting 111 of its outlets across the UK, says the trend has been accelerated by the pandemic.

Banks in Margate high street and Hempstead Valley are the two in Kent to face the chop.

Mobile and online transactions have been growing by 20% each year, with almost two thirds of transactions now digital.

Most of the 111 branches being closed are less than three miles from another Santander bank, and the furthest is five miles.

The closures will leave a remaining network of 452 banks, while Santander said it expects to find alternative roles for a significant number of staff affected by the announcement.

Today's announcement follows on from two years ago when the firm announced it was shutting 140 banks - including the Hythe branch.

Adam Bishop, head of branches at Santander, said: “Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

“We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.

“We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”

Head to our business page for all of the latest news about businesses in Kent

Read more: All the latest news from Kent