Australia lost about 200 bank branches last financial year, while more than 6000 ATMs have been scrapped over the past five years amid the push to digital payments.
New research from Canstar has revealed the pace of bank branch closures outside capital cities eased, with the 52 shutting in the 2024 financial year, compared with 122 during the previous one.
Bank branch closures in non-regional areas brought the total in Australia to 230.
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Canstar’s data insights director, Sally Tindall, says the slower rate of bank closures is hardly a “win” for regional customers who depend on brick-and-mortar banks.
“Bank branches are continuing to disappear as banking and payments increasingly go digital.”
“However, a branch or ATM closure in a shopping centre where there are alternatives nearby is very different to a branch closure in outback Australia that forces people into the car, in some cases for hours, to get to and from their new nearest branch.”
The slowing of regional branch closures was partly due to the commitment from three of the big four banks – CBA, Westpac and ANZ – to temporarily suspend them.
Looking at ATMs, the number dropped across the country by 217 in the past financial year, with the major cities recording the biggest decrease.
The major cities recorded the largest drop, with a loss of 51 machines.
Australia Post’s Bank@Post continues to be an important service across the country, with a total of 3428 points of presence.
The service enables customers to carry out basic transactions such as making deposits and withdrawals, at participating Australia Post outlets if their bank has an agreement with the corporation.
The Canstar analysis also found some Australians continue to rely on cash for their payments.
“The latest ATM statistics from the RBA shows Australians withdrew $107 billion in the last 12 months alone – that’s a lot of cash,” said Tindall.
“The banks, government and regulators will need to continue collaborating on solutions as our payments and banking platforms evolve.”
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