HANOVER — Citizens Bank is closing its downtown branch on South Main Street in early October, leaving the Rhode-Island based financial institution with only two remaining locations in the Upper Valley.

Citizens customers were recently notified by mail that the Hanover branch will close its doors as of Oct. 9. The branch’s ATM and night deposit box are also being taken out of commission the same day.

In the last decade or so, Citizens, one of the country’s largest and oldest banks, has gradually shrunk its footprint in the Upper Valley — going from seven branches to one each in West Lebanon and Claremont.

Since early 2017, Citizens has pulled out of White River Junction, Lebanon and Woodstock. Prior to 2017, a branch in Norwich was shuttered as well.

Hanover’s impending closure is the latest example of how in-person banking services are becoming a thing of the past. Routine transactions, such as making deposits, that were once done by visiting a bank branch are now often completed online. Nationally, 2,454 bank branches closed last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Customers coming out of the Hanover branch last week lamented the loss, but saw it as another sign of the times.

“I enjoy going into the bank and talking to the front desk workers, they have always been very patient, accommodating and efficient,” Citizens customer Andrew Garrod said. “But to be honest, it never seemed like a really busy bank, it looked as if it was already on its way out.”

Signs posted outside the bank’s entrance give directions to the nearest Citizens branch on Route 12A in West Lebanon.

Last week, employees at the Hanover branch declined to comment on the reason for the closure, referring questions to Citizens’ corporate headquarters in Providence, R.I. A spokeswoman didn’t return phone messages or email requests for comment.

Without an explanation from Citizens as to why it was closing, some customers speculated that downtown Hanover’s reputation as a high-rent district and a worker shortage, which has hindered many service-orientated business since the COVID-19 pandemic, could be to blame.

“But still, you would think that because they are a popular bank they’d be able to afford rent and staffing,” customer John Meachen told the Valley News.

Closing a branch in a college town could be particularly problematic, Citizens customer Jennifer McCullough said.

“My biggest concern would be for the students at Dartmouth, who need to be able to have easy access to cash when they need it,” she said. “Those who use Citizens Bank are going to be in a very tight spot.”

Four other banks still have branches in downtown Hanover.

In December 2022, Citizens operated approximately 1,100 branches in 14 states. Currently, the company’s website shows it is down to 1,006 branches.

Citizens is part of a national trend in banking, reported a Wall Street Journal website last month.

“Banks have recognized that their physical footprint does not need to be as large today,” said Nathan Stovall, head of financial institutions research, at S&P Global Market Intelligence, in an interview with the website. “As revenue pressures persist, banks likely will continue to shrink branch networks.”

Citizens has occupied the space for about 20 years. “We’d like to get another bank in there,” landlord Kurt Schleicher said.

The departure of Citizens, which is the same building as Starbucks, is another blow to downtown Hanover’s retail landscape.

On South Main Street, the downtown’s focal point, two storefronts are currently empty.

A third space, on the floor below Starbucks, also is vacant.

In June, Hanover also saw the closing of one of its mainstay restaurants. C&A Pizza, which had been in business on Lebanon Street since 1976, shuttered when its owner retired.

The pizza parlor was next door to two other vacant Lebanon Street storefronts.

Caroline Frost can be reached at neezyfrost@gmail.com.