Bye, bye NatWest
Sherfield branch closes its doors for last time
The Imperial College branch of NatWest in the Sherfield building closed its doors for the final time last Thursday. The reason for the closure, which was first reported in Felix in February, is unknown as NatWest has repeatedly declined to comment.
Since being notified of the closure in February, Imperial has been working on mitigating the impact of the closure of the branch, which is used by many students, staff and College services.
In a memo sent out to senior staff on the 6th of May, Malcolm Aldridge, the College Financial Controller, set out the plans that have been put in place to deal with the situation. Cash from College shops and services will now be processed through a dedicated secure room in the Sherfield building. Loomis (UK) Limited has been contracted to deliver money to and from this room. Renovation work was carried out to ensure that the room is secure enough to hold significant amounts of money.
One of the major concerns raised at the time the closure was announced was the effect that it would have on international students. Sorting out bank accounts is a major concern for international students and they benefited from having a bank on campus with experience in dealing with international student issues.
The College is planning to allow payments to newly-arrived international students who don’t have UK accounts (previously made by College cheques which could be cashed at the branch) to be made to foreign accounts by wire transfer, or a UK-resident’s account, although the College say that they cannot be held responsible for any such agreements.
Dr Sharon Bolton, Head of International Student Support, says that the College will provide international students with more information about other banks in the existing area, including “details of accounts that can be opened before travelling to the UK”. Many of these banks will also be invited to the International Students Welcome event at the start of the new academic year.
Dr Bolton believes it is unlikely that another bank will take up the vacated space. Nicholas Roalfe, Director of Facilities Management, said that he anticipated that a decision on how to use the area would be reached by the end of the month by the Space Executive Committee. He said that the decision would be made “as part of the overall strategy for [the] Sherfield [building]”.
