Cautiouswelcome for ‘smart’ hub
The big banks were back in Martinborough yesterday. And they brought the finance minister and the media with them.
They were in the South Wairarapa town to trial a ‘‘smart’’ replacement for the branch offices closed over recent years.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson opened the ‘‘smartbanking hub’’ in the town’s new events centre.
The new facility, which jointly serves six major banks, handles cash deposits and withdrawals.
Nearby information centre staff have been trained to answer queries on how the technology works.
South Wairarapa mayor Alex Beijen was glad that Martinborough was chosen as a trial town for one of the four banking hubs, but he said it was a solution that should not have been needed.
‘‘The problem was caused by the people correcting it.’’
Beijen was somewhat cynical about the banks’ decision to remove the branches from the three South Wairarapa towns, as well as many other towns across New Zealand, in the first place.
‘‘Things must be dire in the banking sector to see such shrinkage in how they service their customers,’’ he said. ‘‘In 2019, ANZ made $2 billion, Westpac $1b, ASB $1.2b and BNZ $1b.’’
He was concerned about ‘‘the elderly unable to switch to online banking, businesses who have additional expenses and lost time to travel, and customers who just prefer human interaction’’.
Trial banking hubs are also being opened in Twizel, Central Otago; Opunake, Taranaki; and Stoke, Nelson.
Robertson said he hoped the trials would be successful, because online banking had meant many smaller branches were closing.
‘‘It’s not economic for the banks to keep branches open absolutely everywhere, so rather than have nothing, we’ve got the possibility of a hub like this.
‘‘What we’ve got here is the ability for banks to provide basic banking services, but part of the trial is to see whether that is enough for people.
‘‘Fundamentally, this about making sure we continue to see people who live in regional towns still able to access face-to-face banking.’’
Robertson said he was optimistic that the hubs could be rolled out in other regions if the trial was successful.
Martinborough resident Penny Rae said she appreciated the return of some facilities, but stressed the need to have someone nearby to explain how it worked if needed.
‘‘This is probably a good idea, in that there’s a lot of people here who I’m sure don’t do online banking.’’