1960S Banking Hours

[barry1010]

I am fairly certain that during the 1960s banks were only open Monday - Fridays 9.30 - 16.00. Does anyone know for sure if they closed for lunch?

[dannyk13]

No, they did not close for lunch.

[Jackdaw33]

My memory is that they opened 10 -3. They didn't close for lunch as that was the only time most people could get to the bank.

[bhg481]

I don't THINK they closed for lunch but I also thought they closed at 3:30pm

[barry1010]

Yes, 15.30 rings bells with me. Maybe it was the bank manager who was unavailable at lunch times. You had to see him (it was always a him) if you wanted an overdraft, loan, mortgage or any little thing, really. It was not always easy to get an appointment, either

[bhg481]

Yes, even bank managers had to eat. I think most of us were surprised at that as they never came over as being Human Beings, more like aliens.

[barry1010]

I think Captain Mainwaring set the standard for all bank managers, bhg :)

[JJ109]

They were also open on Saturday mornings

[barry1010]

I don't remember them being open on Saturday mornings in the 1960s. I'd swear they weren't.

[Jackdaw33]

Yes they were, 10 - 12.

[JJ109]

My father worked for what was the Midland bank in those days. Saturday in Leicester was half day opening, maybe not all branches were open on Saturdays but my fathers branch was!

[barry1010]

Well, I never. :)

[bhg481]

It was amazing how much more customer-friendly they became when Building Societies were allowed to offer current accounts and general banking.

[dannyk13]

The Yorkshire Penny bank, as it was called in those days opened from 9.30 to 3.30 and was closed on a Saturday.

[barry1010]

Yes, indeed, bhg. I remember when customers were charged for both issuing and depositing cheques before the advent of 'free banking'. I think that came about in the early 80s when banks were competing for customers.

[bhg481]

Part of the charge for cheques was stamp duty, 2d per cheque, I seem to remember.

[jazzyjen]

I used to work in a bank. We had to be in by 8.30am but opened to the public at 9.30am ( it took so long to heave all the coin bags up from the strong room). We “traded” until 3.30pm taking our lunch breaks in shifts to allow customers in. Then we carried on with paperwork and counting/balancing the tills until at least 5pm sometimes 6pm. After particularly busy days it could be 7pm before we left.

[barry1010]

Yes, I knew the working day was longer than the opening hours, jazzyjen, not so much automation back in the day

[bhg481]

I wonder how much cash is handled nowadays (forgetting Corvid) compared to years ago. Back in the 1960s, when I first opened a current account, there was very little cheque use by the general public, most transactions being cash.

[barry1010]

Good question, bhg. Bearing in mind that many people didn't have a bank account in the 1960s (only 16% of people living in Scotland did) and it was very difficult to open a current account I wonder if the difference in cash is very different.
I don't use cash at all. Using a card has saved me a small fortune. I no longer tell the taxi driver to keep the change. I don't over pay in car parks and on buses because I don't have the right money and no change is given. I don't buy things I don't want just to get the change for the bus or the car park.