Digital trends lead to BNZ withdrawing from Marton

Bank customers forced to drive 30 minutes to the nearest branch while their hometown location closes for good say it’s ‘‘not good enough’’.

The Bank of New Zealand branch in Marton, which had three full-time employees, closed for good yesterday, with the nearest BNZ branches more than 30 kilometres away in Taihape and Feilding.

It was reported in October that the wider Manawatu¯ region may lose 17 jobs as four of the region’s branches came under review as BNZ grappled with the growing use of digital banking.

The bank’s withdrawal from the Rangitı¯kei town was met with criticism from customer Grant Wilson, who said it had a responsibility to all of its customers, not just the tech-savvy majority.

It was bad news for older Kiwis who prefer face-to-face banking, Wilson said.

‘‘The BNZ has indicated in all my dealings with them that, with electronic banking, there is no need for stores anymore.

‘‘My particular beef is... when I go into the store I see people being assisted by customer service reps and they now have to travel to Taihape or Feilding to do their banking.’’

In a letter to Wilson, BNZ’S central region head of retail sales Mathew Bowling said the closure was based on the town’s past, current and future population trends, customer foot traffic and declining branch transactions over several years.

About 90 per cent of the bank’s transactions were made through its digital channels, Bowling said.

The number of customers visiting the Marton bank had declined steadily.

‘‘There comes a time when any business must review whether it remains viable to continue in its current form, given the changing trends.’’

Wilson said people in the branch yesterday were still shocked.

‘‘I think as a trading bank they have a responsibility to maintain a presence in town.’’

The closure came as a surprise to many residents after the bank recently undertook an extensive renovation of the Marton branch, Wilson said.