Australian town becomes latest to lose banks

A mining town in South Australia is about to lose its last bank branch, forcing residents to travel hundreds of kilometres.

Coober Pedy will lose its Westpac branch on February 17 and its residents will only be able to access banking through its post office, which has limited services available.

If they want some other service, the nearest bank is in Port Augusta, about 550 kilometers away.

The Australian Post Office has a daily withdrawal limit of $7,000, something that will hurt businesses in the city, according to the council’s chief executive, Tim Jackson.

It is the latest city to lose its physical branches as more and more banks push internet banking.

Mr. Jackson believes in the pattern. it will harm the local elderly and aboriginal population, as well as others who have difficulty using the internet.

“They told me that people used to walk into the bank and because the bank staff knew them, they could access their accounts and make transactions and withdrawals,” said Coober Pedy Council Executive Director Tim Jackson. news.com.au.

“I was talking to an opal miner and he told me that buyers, when they come to town, need access to $100,000 to $200,000 in cash, since transactions are usually done in cash in opal industry terms,” said.

‘So they’ll need to pick up in Port Augusta and drive 550km down the highway with that much cash in their car, so that’s a lot of risky issues and businesses will need to have personal safes. It will certainly be a challenge.

Meanwhile, the town of Berrigan, near the New South Wales-Victoria border, lost its last bank in October 2022.

Karina Ewer, chief executive of Berrigan Shire Council, has revealed that the town’s older residents are now relying on library staff and others to deal with their online banking problems, putting them at risk.

“We’ve seen people like our library staff often called in by seniors who can’t use online banking to manage their accounts, so they have passwords and identify information given to them to help our residents and it makes them incredibly uncomfortable, but I don’t have anyone else to trust,” she said.

If Coober Pedy residents want to visit a bank, the closest one is in Port Augusta, about 550 kilometers away.

“To me, that just makes vulnerable people more vulnerable and they can’t bank on their own because they’re forced to be online.

“If they don’t come to us and they don’t go to their family, we all know that not necessarily the whole family is trustworthy, so I am deeply concerned that people will be forced into positions.”

Jackson said they “have run out of options” in Coober Pedy, despite desperate attempts to stop the banks from closing.

He had a meeting with Westpac’s state manager in Adelaide, wrote to Westpac’s chief executive and communicated with South Australian senators.

However, he said he only received a response from two politicians and also did not receive a proper response from Westpac.

Four years ago, Westpac announced the closure of its bank, before protests halted the move.

Jackson doesn’t think there will be a change of heart this time.

Westpac said there has been a 28 percent drop in the number of people using its city location each month since fiscal 2020.

“Declining customer use of branches means that in some cases we may make a difficult decision to leave a branch,” a Westpac spokesperson said.

‘At Coober Pedy, our team is working to help customers with the transition, including coordinating with the Australia Post team to help familiarize customers with Bank@Post services.

“The Coober Pedy Post Office is located just 50 meters from our current branch and customers will be able to access many of the same cash services there, including cash withdrawal, cash and check deposit, and balance checking. of counts”.

Coober Pedy is just the latest Australian city to lose its physical bank.

Junee, a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, will lose its last bank on March 3.

James Davis, general manager of the Junee Shire Council, said the measure would affect vulnerable or elderly residents.

People in the city will be forced to travel with “large amounts of cash in the car” to the nearest town of Wagga Wagga, which is half an hour away, he added.

Australia’s Prudential Regulation Authority said 575 regional banks closed between mid-2017 and mid-2021.

And the Financial Sector Union said bank branch closures are reaching a “crisis point” with the big four closing more than 550 bank branches in Australia since January 2020.

More than 1,600 bank branches have closed nationwide in the last six years.