In a March SBS guest blog on the Mortgage Finance Gazette, we explored how lenders could go beyond bricks and mortar by rethinking the role of the branch in a digital‑first world. That discussion landed at a pivotal moment for the UK mortgage market. While digital adoption continues to accelerate, the demand for human support, particularly supporting complex borrowing decisions, remains strong.

Recent data underlines this tension. According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data published last year, between 2020 and 2024 the proportion of UK consumers using digital channels as their primary way to access banking services rose from 33% to 59%. Over the same period, the UK lost more than a third of its branches, with the national network shrinking from over 10,400 locations in 2019 to fewer than 6,900 in 2024.

This shift creates a clear challenge for UK mortgage lenders. There is a need to enhance processes, reduce costs, go to market faster, and attract more customers. However, they must also continue to build customer loyalty through face-to-face interactions, offer accessible in-person services, and continue to provide the advice-led engagement that branch networks have historically provided. This becomes a balancing act that often requires a unique approach from lender to lender.

Finding the balance between branch and digital

The debate around branch strategy is often framed as a simple choice. To close or keep open. To digitise or invest in physical space. However, there are many lenders want to sit in the middle ground and offer the best of both.

While simple transactions have largely moved online, mortgages remain advice‑heavy. The Bank of England’s most recent Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics show that gross mortgage advances reached £79.4 billion in Q4 2025, reflecting renewed activity across first‑time buyers, home movers and remortgagers alike. These journeys offer a powerful opportunity to provide reassurance, guidance, and share an informed dialogue with the customer.

At the same time, lenders are under pressure to deliver those interactions more efficiently and with reduced costs. Legacy branch systems were not designed for mobile working, flexible formats, or seamless transitions between digital and in‑person channels. With these legacy branch systems, it is no wonder so many lenders do not see the value or possibilities of in-person networks.

Connecting people, processes, and channels

Another strong theme emerging across the industry is the expectation of consistency across channels. Mintel’s UK Mortgage Advice Market Report 2025 found that while over half of consumers are comfortable completing parts of the mortgage journey digitally, in-person advice remains highly valued for navigating product complexity and affordability considerations.

This amends the challenge branch colleagues face as customers may start their journey online, but they expect continuity when they move into a face‑to‑face conversation. Legacy, fragmented systems make this difficult, increasing duplication, delays and frustration for both staff and borrowers.

Turning ambition into execution

Reimagining the branch has become a priority for many banks and building societies. As recent market data shows, mortgage volumes are returning, customer expectations are rising, and physical networks are continuing to evolve.

Lenders will find success in looking beyond the branch as a legacy constraint and seeing it as a strategic asset that can be enhanced, extended, and explored while connecting back and front office operations through digital capability.

SBS Digital Branch in action

At the Building Societies Association conference in Edinburgh in April 2026, SBS showcase Digital Branch for the first time. Instead of treating the branch as a fixed location, SBS Digital Branch enables lenders to deliver secure, compliant branch services wherever face‑to‑face interaction is needed via a tablet device.

Many societies stopped by, curious about how it could help them to reinvent their branch locations. These lenders saw the art of the possible with Digital Branch, not as a conceptual model, but as a practical response to the operational and customer experience challenges facing the sector today.

SBS Digital Branch will help banks and building societies to reimagine branch networks and find proactive, new ways to meet clients in person. This could be a flagship branch, a smaller advisory hub, a pop‑up location, through a business partnership, school, workplace, community venue, or even where a customer lives.

The SBS Digital Branch conversation will continue at SBS Connect London on 16 June, where banks and building societies will be able to demo the product further, learn about ongoing product developments, and discuss how it fits within their broader transformation strategies.

To learn more about the digital branch revolution, visit our website.

Ben Verdin, Head of UK Lending Product Strategy & Management, SBS