Post office support promised with bank branch closure

The third bank to close its Woy Woy branch in the space of 12 months is relying on the post office to provide local face-to-face service to its customers.

The National Australia Bank will close its Woy Woy branch on October.

This follows the ANZ's Woy Woy branch closure a year ago, and the closure of the Newcastle Permanent branch in March.

NAB retail customer executive Mr Jamie Apostolovski said: "While our physical branch presence in Woy Woy will no longer be there, we will still be there for our customers - just in different ways.

"These include our partnership with Australia Post and the Bank@post service as well as connecting with our mobile bankers, home lending specialists or business bankers in person or for phone or video appointments.

"The branch team will be working with customers over the coming weeks until we close, talking with them about the various banking alternatives available.

"Importantly, there will be no job losses.

"Over the coming weeks we will be working with our colleagues from this branch on opportunities for them to continue to support customers either through other branches or across phone and digital channels."

Mr Apostolovski said that the branch closure came as "increasingly customers are banking digitally, with more than 93 per cent of customer interactions now taking place over the phone, by video or online".

"Over the past few years, fewer customers are coming into branches to do their banking and foot traffic has lessened, which has been accelerated by Covid.

"More than 50 per cent of our customers in Woy Woy have only visited the branch once in the last year and almost 70 per cent of customers are also using other branches in the area such as Gosford and Erina."

Personal banking executive Ms Rachel Slade said the relationship with Australia Post would allow customers to do more of their banking at over 3500 Post Office locations around the country.

Customers would be able to access an expanded range of services at Australia Post, introduced progressively from 1 October.

"This includes a business change facility, an express business deposit option as well as an increase to the daily withdrawal limit for NAB customers.

"An NAB community banker will also work half a day a week, in a small number of selected Bank@Post locations.

"They will assist customers with general banking enquires, digital education, setting up accounts and making appointments with specialist bankers. "This renewed partnership provides certainty for our customers, knowing that for at least the next 10 years, they will have access to essential banking services through this national network of post offices.

"It provides extra support, particularly for those remote and rural customers, to be able to access face-to-face banking services.

"We know that face-to-face banking will always be an important part of banking and this will help us achieve that," Ms Slade said.

SOURCE:

Media statement, 16 Sep 2021

Peter Dalton, NAB