Grey backlash over possible bank closure

A town with a median age of 62 faces losing one of its few remaining bank branches, prompting a grey backlash from the community.

Waikanae, north of Wellington, is one of 19 locations around New Zealand where Westpac is mulling closing their physical branch.

On Friday community members plan to gather outside the Westpac in a protest drawing older members of the community including the likes of Barbara Bailey. The Westpac customer of 40 years said at 70 she didn’t feel old, and was ‘‘semi-literate’’ on computers, but she regularly saw elderly people at the bank who would struggle if it closed.

‘‘On a Tuesday, which is pension day, I see people in their on walking sticks, walking frames, and they physically write out a cheque, give it to the teller, and they say ‘I’d like two fives, one ten, a couple of 20s’.’’

Bailey said she wondered where these people would go if the bank closed. She said she would probably head along to the protest.

The average median age of people living in central Waikanae is 62 - the national median is 38. The town is the grey heart of the wider Kapiti Coast, where one on four are over retirement age.

Kapiti Grey Power vice president Trevor Daniell said the group said the group would be joining the gathering outside the bank at 1pm.

‘‘We don’t think they’ve taken into account any consideration of the older people.’’

Older people had not taken up new technology, he said, and he understood only about 10 per cent of people over 75 had computers.

‘‘Internet banking is out of their grasp, and out of their interest.’’

People living in central Waikanae have a median age of 62. Nationally the median is 38.