Branch transaction fall is no surprise to me
Ihave enormous empathy with the impassioned pleas by Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon, for Westpac to reverse the proposed closure of its Kaiapoi branch. The North Canterbury town might be small, but its surging population growth is impressive, particularly among the older demographic, and in the Silverstream subdivision.
Understandably, bank branch closures are one of the biggest casualties of the digital age.
Ongoing rationalisation of bricks and mortar branches is inevitable, but it’s debatable whether retail banks have struck the right balance between expediting the digital drive, and sustaining solid customer service.
Do they really give full consideration to the adverse impacts on communities from branch closures, the reputational damage from obliterating their physical presence, or their wider obligations as good corporate citizens?
Engaging with some faceless soul on the phone or by virtual chat with an online automaton isn’t for everyone.
As Gordon referred to in a story in The Press last week, changing signatories is just one of the many everyday needs that some customers depend upon their bank providing, via having a community branch presence.
Westpac claims the lease on the building is expiring and counter transactions at the Kaiapoi branch have dropped by 38 per cent in the past year.
Should we be surprised? Staff actively deter customers from daring to front up to a branch counter.
On the semi-regular occasions I have had the gall to line up at a branch, for some person-to-person service, the teller has swiftly shepherded me across to the Smart ATM for a DIY crash course or a refresher – whether I wanted it or not.
The unmistakable impression the customer is left with is please don’t bother us, we really don’t want to see you stumping up to our counters.
Get with the programme, leave us alone and do it yourself.
In a self-fulfilling grand scheme, the actively orchestrated plunge in counter transactions then prompts the branch to be unceremoniously slated for closure.
Meanwhile, citing a building lease expiry to explain away a branch closure or the withdrawal of services certainly isn’t confined to Kaiapoi.
My local Westpac branch in St Martins has now been consigned to history.
Prior to the quakes, it was a full service branch, but post-quake, the branch was rebuilt as a ‘‘helpstation’’ with extremely limited counter services.
A 24-hour Smart ATM was installed in the ‘‘helpstation’’ lobby several years ago, which I have regularly used, particularly for depositing of notes and coins.
But last year the ‘‘helpstation’’ was permanently closed and just a few weeks ago, the Smart ATM was suddenly removed.
A Westpac spokesman tells me that ‘‘it was removed following a lease expiry.
‘‘However, our Barrington and Eastgate branches have Smart ATMs.’’
So what? Neither of those smart siblings are in my neighbourhood, nor do they both operate 24 hours. Why couldn’t they renew the lease? Halswell was left feeling helpless after its ‘‘helpstation’’ was also withdrawn last year, while the Papanui branch was shuttered in March.
Westpac tells me ‘‘it was closed due to an issue with the building, but we’re planning to move to a new site in the area’’.
Yet there are no specifics on where or when. But back to the Kaiapoi branch battle, where the final decision on the proposed closure will be revealed later this month.
It’s a stretch to classify Kaiapoi as a metropolitan branch, but cynically, Westpac has chosen to classify Kaiapoi as falling within its wider Christchurch network.
In doing so, it can close this branch without falling foul of the regional banking hub trial, which is being undertaken by the retail banks with an interim commitment not to close any rural branches this year.
Running until the end of the year, Twizel is one of the towns partaking in it.
Bankers’ Association CEO Roger Beaumont tells me that ‘‘a key factor in the success of the hubs is community support. If they are successful and meet community demand, these banking hubs could form the basis of future banking services in small communities.’’
They are shaping up to be the best hope of halting the wholesale retreat of banking services from provincial New Zealand.
Neither of those smart siblings are in my neighbourhood, nor do they both operate 24 hours.