Royal Bank of Scotland takes wraps off historic Edinburgh branch after £520,000 transformation

The refurbishment follows the bank’s recent pledge of no further branch closures until at least 2029 and a £50 million investment programme to modernise and upgrade the remaining network.

RBS said customers at the revamped branch at the west end of Princes Street would benefit from state-of-the-art equipment and technology, including new upgraded machines and tech to improve reliability, speed of service and reduce maintenance and downtime. There is the promise of “comfortable seating areas” within the banking hall, and music and “white noise technology” to improve privacy.

Meanwhile, “refreshed colleague welfare facilities” include upgraded bathrooms, dining areas and lounge space, the bank added.

The refurbishment was celebrated with an open evening featuring live music and a fireside chat with Scottish Olympic curling silver medallist Bruce Mouat.

Lynne Mantle, branch manager, said: “It is a real privilege to be able to showcase our refurbished Royal Bank of Scotland branch on Princes Street to our customers. Our £520,000 investment in this branch, which has been located on the same site since the 19th century, is a real commitment to providing our customers with a modern, welcoming space where they can access face-to-face services when they need them.

“From enhanced technology and improved interview facilities to more comfortable customer areas and upgraded colleague spaces, these improvements will help us deliver an even better banking experience for everyone who visits the branch.”

Mark Scanlon, local director, Edinburgh and south east Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “As the Royal Bank of Scotland approaches its 300th anniversary, I am delighted that we continue to invest in our face-to-face services for our customers. Investing in branches like Edinburgh West End, alongside our commitment to maintaining our existing branch network to at least 2029, is a key part of how we grow alongside the customers and communities that we serve.”

RBS - part of NatWest Group - said it was also helping children from the age of five learn about money through its Royal Bank Thrive education and future skills programme which aims to “transform the way young people feel about money, entrepreneurship, investment and savings”. Through its partnership with YouthLink Scotland, the bank recently announced that it would be rolling out Thrive materials and sessions to youth clubs across Scotland.

Earlier this summer, parent group NatWest announced a fresh tranche of branch closures across Britain, including a further half dozen in Scotland. It will leave the lender with a UK-wide network comprising 336 branches - 62 of them under the Royal Bank of Scotland banner - a shadow of what once was.

But that announcement came alongside the pledge of no further branch closures until at least 2029 and details of the £50m investment programme. The group has already spent more than £17m overhauling its Scottish branch operations since 2020 and almost a fifth of that new £50m commitment is earmarked for sites north of the Border.

The West End branch in Edinburgh also plays host to one of the group’s small business Accelerator hubs. In Glasgow, the bank has completed a £3m redevelopment of its historic Gordon Street branch, while its state-of-the-art £2.5m Inverness site is now well established, having opened last year.

With 258 automated teller machines, RBS also offers Scotland’s largest bank operated free-to-use ATM estate.

When it comes to retail banking, much of the talk in recent years has been around branch closures, which have numbered in the hundreds, as more and more of us conduct our financial affairs digitally.

The revolution has seen many smaller towns and communities left with no high street banking provision while customers in larger towns and cities have seen their local branch converted into yet another coffee shop, forcing them to travel further afield.

Speaking to The Scotsman in August, Jimmy Robertson, NatWest’s head of branch and local banking for the UK, said he remained passionate about face-to-face banking and argued that it can play a complementary role in today’s virtual world.

“Customer behaviour is changing, but it doesn’t change at the same pace for everybody,” he said. “That’s why it’s really important that we are in a position about confirming there will be no further branch closures until at least 2029 and that we can invest in these services that are there to serve those communities.

“We are committed to having a full range of banking services available,” added Robertson, who started his career at a Highland RBS branch 38 years ago. “You can start your journey digitally, for example applying for a mortgage, but at some point you may want to break out of that and speak to a human.

“As the world becomes more tech savvy, and more people are using AI and other technologies, the human service potentially becomes premium and a differentiator for us.”

In July, NatWest Group posted an operating pre-tax profit of £4.3 billion for the six months to the end of June, up 20 per cent on the same period in 2025. This was ahead of the £4.1bn that most analysts had been expecting.

NatWest followed Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group - owner of Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows - in beating City hopes for profit growth over the first half. Income generated by NatWest jumped by 11 per cent year on year, driven by growth across its retail, commercial and wealth management arms.

Hubs, pop-ups, flying bankers and branch makeovers: How RBS is keeping it physical in the digital world