BANKING services in Hamilton are set to be further impacted in the near future with the announcement of the temporary closure of the NAB branch for a +$1 million refurbishment.
From 2pm on May 25, construction will begin on a new open plan teller space, a digital education area and new meeting rooms equipped with video conferencing technology, and is hoped to be completed by mid-July.
The branch was keen to ensure locals were aware the branch would re-open with improved services, and released a statement advising customers of their interim options, highlighting services at post offices.
“Our partnership with Australia Post provides the community with a face-to-face alternative at 3500 Australia Post outlets across the country,” the statement said.
“Customers can conduct a range of banking services including deposits up to $9999 and withdrawals up to $2000 per day. Under our 10-year agreement, both personal and business customers are able to access this service.”
The bank renewed their agreement with Australia Post in June 2021 with NAB Personal Banking group executive, Rachel Slade, saying at the time they wanted to provide “certainty to our customers”.
The slow declination of regional banking services has been in the news the past year with the Federal Government releasing its Regional Banking Taskforce Final Report in September 2022.
The 22-page report said the impact of bank closures was greater in regional areas, with the potential distance to travel a greater factor.
“Australians generally do not have to travel far to reach their nearest cash access point, with around 95 per cent of people living within 4 kilometres of a cash withdrawal point in 2021,” the report said.
“However, there are parts of regional and remote Australia with limited access to cash. In addition to longer distances to cash access points, these areas also have fewer alternative access points nearby. This means these regions are more vulnerable to any further removal of cash access points and an increasing number of localities are down to their last cash access point.”
The report noted submissions had highlighted a number of issues including “the importance of banking services and access to cash for regional communities, especially when there are emergencies” and problems such as the need to visit a bank branch in person to establish a bank account, the impact on the elderly and people with disabilities, and also the specific needs of primary producers.
“Farmers and small businesses noted a variety of issues with the transition away from branch banking,” the report said.
“Alternatives like call centres can lead to dealing with staff that lack flexibility to work with the customer’s specific situation. This loss of an ongoing, direct banking relationship can be frustrating and lead to unsatisfactory or untimely responses, which can result in lost opportunities.
“Branch closures increase security risks due to cash being carried for longer periods of time and create added costs to visit branches to withdraw or deposit cash. The closure of branches led to the loss of rural bank managers who work with rural businesses in distress.”
The taskforce was set up by the previous Federal Government to investigate the impact of bank branch closures on people, businesses, and communities in regional and remote areas of Australia.
It brought together representatives from banks, peak bodies, Australia Post, and the Australian Local Government Association to analyse the trends in bank branch closures and assess their impact; with over 400 submissions received and meetings held in various locations to gather information and discuss solutions, the final report made seven recommendations.
- Review and strengthen the ABA’s Branch Closure Protocol
- Implement branch closure impact assessments
- Promote and support Bank@Post services
- Maintain access to cash
- Improve support for regional consumers experiencing vulnerability
- Continue to support and improve digital connectivity and literacy in regional areas
- Review the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) Points of Presence collection
On the basis of the final recommendation, APRA said last month it wanted to hear from stakeholders in order to ensure the information banks were relying on was accurate.
“APRA is conscious of the impact of bank branch closures on consumers and businesses, particularly those in regional and remote communities,” APRA member, Therese McCarthy Hockey said.
“APRA’s data shows that over the five years to June 2022, branches have declined by 30 per cent in major cities, and 29 per cent in regional and remote areas.
“While the decision to close a branch is a commercial matter for individual banks and not something APRA regulates, our points of presence data collection plays an important role in ensuring proper transparency around the availability of banking services across Australia.
“We want to hear from all interested parties, including consumer and community groups, on ways we can improve our data collection and ensure it remains useful and relevant.”
NAB Hamilton has set a tentative date of July 11 for re-opening.
