THE Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is closing its Renmark branch – including its on-site ATM – permanently and has directed customers to the town’s Australia Post outlet or the bank’s Berri branch.
CBA has attributed the decision to a 44 per cent drop in transactions in Renmark over the past five years.
“We regularly review our branch locations across Australia to help us make informed decisions on where to open new branches, where to renovate or upgrade existing branches, and in some instances where to close branches,” said Sally Gubbin, CBA’s regional general manager.
“Following a recent review, we made the difficult decision to permanently close the Renmark branch.”
The Ral Ral Avenue branch and its ATM will both close on June 4, however the CBA confirmed yesterday its off-site ATM at the Renmark Square Shopping Centre would remain operational past that date.
While online banking has become increasingly popular, particularly since the advent of COVID-19, Ms Gubbin admitted that “some older customers do prefer to do their banking face to face”.
“We’ve ensured customers who prefer over-the-counter service still have access to this option,” she said.
“For Renmark customers, we have another branch in the region at Berri. We’ve also found that nearly 20 per cent of customers from Renmark are already visiting this branch.
“Additionally, the Renmark LPO Australia Post outlet a few doors up the road is available for customers to conduct personal and business banking transactions such as withdrawals, deposits and bill payments including passbooks during normal
business hours.”
Renmark Paringa Mayor Neil Martinson said he was “very disappointed” about the decision.
“It means there’s another empty shop in our town and we certainly don’t need that,” he said.
“(I am) disappointed that any customers there – especially the older community who go in quite frequently – will have to either look at changing their bank, doing things online, which is hard, or travelling to Berri.”
Mr Martinson said disgruntled Commonwealth Bank customers could take their business elsewhere.
“If they’re not happy with the Commonwealth Bank service they’ve received after the bank has pulled out of Renmark, then they should seriously consider changing to one of the three other banks that we have in the town,” he said.
“This will also make sure that those banks are maintained and kept open.”
Before COVID-19, the CBA says around two-thirds of its customers were using digital channels for their everyday banking needs, like transferring funds, making payments and checking account balances, however since the pandemic only 6 per cent of customers visited its branches for these tasks.