AceBreakingNews – UPDATE – The regional banking crisis is having unexpected consequences, with a Coles in Western Australia now having to pause cash-out in its store due to excessive demand.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Feb.16: 2024: 7News TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

The Coles in Kununurra has experienced an increase in demand for in-store cash-out services following the closure of some bank branches in town.

Coles says this is a temporary measure only in place at the Kununurra store.

“While Coles usually offers the convenience of facilitating cash-out for our customers, due to the increase in demand, we have made the decision to pause the option of cash-out at our Kununurra store,” a Coles spokesperson said.

“We understand this is a challenging time for the community, however we are not operationally equipped to handle large volumes of cash.”

The Bankwest branch was “temporarily” closed in August 2023, until it was announced last month it would permanently close on April 18.

The bank said most customer transactions were now being done digitally, and this had contributed to the closure, saying it had seen “a continual decline in branch transactions”.

“Customers are increasingly preferring digital options that enable them to do their banking in a time they choose, which has led to significantly fewer visits and transactions in our branches,” Bankwest said.

Fewer than 10 per cent of Bankwest customers visit a branch for their everyday banking.

The branch also experienced “ongoing resourcing challenges”, the bank said.

The NAB in Kununurra has been temporarily closed since September 2022 due to challenges staffing the branch.

Only a Commonwealth Bank branch remains operational in the area, with locals also able to do their banking at the town’s Australia Post.

But the branch has been vandalised multiple times this year, and its ATMs were once more damaged over the weekend.

The branch remains open, and the bank says it is working to repair the teller machines as soon as possible.

Senate inquiry 

A Senate inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia was announced in February 2023, with submissions open until the end of this month.

A joint submission by RMIT and Swinburne University highlighted the digital divide between capital cities and the rest of the country and the impact this has on communities’ banking abilities.

“Older Australians, those on lower incomes, experiencing unemployment, people with disability, and those who did not complete secondary school continue to experience digital exclusion at much higher rates,” the universities said.

“These digital inequalities compound and intersect, with excluded groups in regional and remote Australia particularly experiencing additional barriers to digital access and participation.

“This puts them at greater risk as essential services, including banking, increasingly move online.”

Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) research in 2022 found that 93 per cent of survey respondents used banking websites or apps to manage money.

“However, the ability to access affordable, quality, and reliable internet services and to use these effectively are not evenly distributed,” the universities’ submission said.

“Vulnerable groups, particularly in regional areas, continue to be left behind in an increasingly digital economy and society.”

The joint submission also highlighted the effect bank closures have on remote First Nations communities.

Almost 30 per cent of Kununurra’s population is indigenous.

“The quality, reliability and cost of internet in remote areas … pose challenges for these communities, making going to a branch to speak to a person even more crucial,” RMIT Distinguished Professor Julian Thomas said.

“By removing banks in regional areas, it potentially disadvantages an already vulnerable community from accessing basic necessities such as financial services — impacting their independence.”

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