Key Points
- Almost three in four Australians think it's important to be able to access a brick and mortar bank.
- More than 1,600 bank branches across Australia closed in the five years to June 2022.
- A Senate inquiry is investigating regional bank closures, their impact, and potential solutions.
Many of us do most of our banking online.
But new research from the comparison website Finder suggests that the majority of Australians still prefer to have the choice of going into a physical branch if they have a banking issue.
A survey of 1,110 Australians found almost three in four (73 per cent) think it's important to be able to access a brick and mortar bank.
Forty-three per cent of respondents said they liked to be able to talk to someone face-to-face, while 30 per cent felt better having an in-person option.
Almost one in five (18 per cent) said they didn't mind not having a physical branch as long as online and phone support was available, while just 9 per cent said they didn't go into them, anyway.
Most Australians think it's important to have access to psychical bank branches. Credit: SBS
"People like having the option of knowing that they're there," she told SBS News.
"For example, if you're a small business owner, you're dealing with cash or cheques, that kind of thing, so it does get annoying if there's nowhere to go physically to see someone or deposit those other than Australia Post."
Four in five baby boomers said they preferred going into a branch if they had a banking issue, compared with 69 per cent of millennials, indicating differing preferences between the generations.
"I haven't been to a bank branch in years, but I know that my parents do regularly," Ms Banney said.
"Not everyone is as comfortable as we (younger people) may be going onto their online banking, to try to work things out themselves."
How many branches have closed across Australia in recent years?
Some 1,680 bank branches were closed across the country between June 2017 and June 2022, according to data from the financial services regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
Of the 309 bank branches that closed in the 12 months to June 2022, 212 were in major cities, and 97 were in regional areas.
"The banks are saying that this is driven by consumer behaviour, which is true to an extent," Ms Banney said.
"They're saying, 'Well, people aren't coming in, so why would we have these branches?'"
But Ms Banney said many Australians were continuing to visit physical branches, with more than half (55 per cent) of the respondents to Finder's survey having been in one in the last six months.
"If the banks are going to be closing their branches, I think they really need to sort of step up and do a better job at investing in their alternative customer service options," she said.
"I'm young, I'm financially literate, but even I get frustrated if I do have an issue and I have to wait on hold on the phone for ages.
"It's even worse when you're trying to deal with those instant chatbot things that just don't tend to work."
A "disproportionate" number of branch closures have been in regional parts of Australia, according to the Financial Sector Union.
More than half of Australians have visited a bank branch in the last six months. Credit: SBS
In its submission, Junee Shire Council in NSW's Riverina region said banks were "forcing their loyal customers into banking practices they do not want or may not be able to access".
"With one-third of Australia's population residing in regional Australia, the commercial decision of the big four banks in removing bank branches are impacting social and economic outcomes in rural communities and on individual citizens," the council wrote.
"The reality is, there are vulnerable and marginalised people in communities that aren't able to use or will never own a smartphone or connect to the internet. Elderly members within our community are fearful of scammers and fraudulent activity if they use over the phone or internet services for banking purposes."
Branch closure support
From 1 July, the Australian Banking Association's (ABA) new will come into force.
It will govern the steps banks must take when closing branches, including offering education and support to help customers transition to other banking options.
"Banking is undergoing a digital revolution with 98.9 per cent of all customer interactions now occurring digitally and branch usage in a sharp decline for many years," ABA chief executive Anna Bligh said when the protocol was announced last week.
"While overall customer preferences have shifted to digital, Australian banks know that some will need greater assistance during this transition.
"The new protocol will lead to improved customer outcomes when banks close branches, in line with the roadmap provided in the government's Regional Banking Taskforce."
