COMMONWEALTH Bank will permanently shut its Merbein branch, after it was temporarily closed last year.
The branch was among a reported 114 branches — about 12 per cent of Commonwealth’s network — closed last May, so staff could be reassigned to help with significant call centre demand.
A message notifying customers of the closure was placed in the branch’s window, which also said the ATM would be inactive after 12pm on February 26.
Regional general manager Sally Gubbin said Commonwealth made the “difficult decision” following a recent review that found transactions at the branch had dropped by 48 per cent over the past five years.
“While we recognise branches play an important role in delivering great service, many of our customers are increasingly choosing to use online channels for their banking,” Ms Gubbin said.
“Before the coronavirus pandemic, around two-thirds of our customers were using digital channels for their everyday banking needs… while only 6 per cent of our customers visited our branches for these tasks.”
Ms Gubbin said the pandemic had accelerated the shift to online banking, with many customers seeking help through contact centres.
“In particular, calls to our hardship line increased by 800 per cent compared to the period before the pandemic,” she said.
According to Ms Gubbin, more and more older customers were engaging in online banking, with twice as many people over 60 using digital banking in the past month, compared to the number that visited a branch.
She said while Commonwealth understood some older customers preferred banking face-to-face, there was still the option of visiting the Mildura branch or using Bank@Post service at Australia Post.
“We’ve also found that 30 per cent of customers from Merbein were already visiting our Mildura branch,” Ms Gubbin said.
Commonwealth’s Mildura branch remains open, and branches in Red Cliffs and Robinvale also remain open.
