COMMONWEALTH Bank says it has temporarily shut its Merbein branch so staff can be reassigned to help with significant call centre demand.
A reported 114 branches, about 12 per cent of Commonwealth’s network, were temporarily shut by the bank on Thursday.
Customers hoping to enter the Merbein branch were greeted with a message about the closure.
Commonwealth’s Mildura branch remained open, with its usual hours of 9.30am to 4pm, and branches in Red Cliffs and Robinvale also remained open, according to the bank’s website.
A Commonwealth Bank spokeswoman said the Merbein branch’s ATM would operate as normal and customers could also use the Bank@Post service at Australia Post.
About 500 branch staff were said to have been reassigned to call centres or online operations.
“As part of the support we are providing to customers affected by coronavirus pandemic, we are moving some of our branch staff to our Australian-based call centres and online teams to help meet the demand from people seeking financial assistance,” the spokeswoman said.
“Since the pandemic was declared in early March, we have received more than one million calls and online requests for help.
“In particular, calls to our hardship line have increased by 800 per cent compared to the period before the pandemic.
“Over the same period, visits by customers to bank branches have fallen more than 50 per cent in some branches as people follow social distancing and lockdown requirements.
“Transaction volumes in branch have dropped significantly as a result, while there has been a large increase in customers doing their banking online through Netbank and the CommBank App.”
Temporary branch closures have also been announced by Westpac, NAB, ANZ and Bendigo Bank, however these did not appear to include Sunraysia branches as of Thursday.
