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Nationwide has promised to keep its high street branches open until 2026.

The Swindon-headquartered building society said it hopes to keep face-to-face banking alive in local communities and so is extended its branch promise as in-person banking remains popular.

Under the pledge, Nationwide said it will not leave any town or city in which it is already operating until at least 2026, keeping its network of 605 branches open for the next three years.

The building society revealed that £46m has been invested in maintaining its physical presence on the high street. Yet, if there are multiple sites in one area then group could still close a branch if a lease expires for example. Since last year, 20 branches have been closed across England and Scotland.

Read more: Nationwide reports 'strongest' financial results on record as profits soar to £2.2bn

Nationwide said that people still want to visit a branch to access services such as setting up a current account or a bond, or to access financial advice or support.

Almost half of openings of its recently launched Fairer Share Bond, which pays 4.75% to savers, were arranged face-to-face, and more than a third of high street were opened in a branch so far this year, Nationwide revealed.

Many other major British lenders have closed hundreds of branches in the past year, under the guise that people prefer to bank digitally. Barclays, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, NatWest, RBS, TSB, Virgin Money and Nationwide have announced the closure of about 330 branches between them since the start of the year, according to data from Link, a cash machine company.