Banking customers’ access to branches, other face-to-face points of contact and ATMs declined in the year to June, as it has over the past few years, with the fall in the number of ATMs particularly marked.
APRA released its annual ADI Points of Presence survey yesterday, reporting that the total number of branches fell 9 per cent to 4491 over 12 months. The number of branches has fallen by 22.8 per cent over the past five years.
The number of other face-to-face access points (largely Australia Post branches offering agency services) fell 2 per cent to 4334 year-on-year and fell 7.3 per cent over the past five years.
The number of ATMs fell 19.3 per cent 7767 year-on-year and fell by 43.8 per cent over the past five years.
Glimmers of the resilience of cash might be detected from a few days transaction data since the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions in Sydney this week.
The graph with this story draws on data from independent ATM operator Next Payments, and is based on the number (not value) of transactions for its fleet in New South Wales.
The only access points that are growing are point of sale terminals. Their number grew by 1.5 per cent over the 12 months to June and by 6 per cent over the past five years.
The rapid take-up of online and mobile banking services suggests that this trend may not represent the significant deterioration in services it appears at first sight.
Earlier in the week, the Australian Banking Association released the results of a survey, reporting that 72 per cent of Australians did not visit a branch in September and that 80 per cent prefer to check account balances, pay bills and transfer money online.
According to the ABA, fewer than 20 per cent prefer to do any banking activities in a branch.
The Reserve Bank took a look at the issue of access to cash in June, when it reported that despite a significant fall in the number of cash access locations in recent years, proximity to branches, ATMs and Bank@Post had not fallen all that much.
The RBA said the impact of branch closures and ATM removals on consumers was not particularly marked because the bulk of cuts have been in metropolitan areas where there are nearby alternatives.
However, the RBA said there are “cash gaps”. Around 250,000 people live more than 15 kilometres from their closest cash withdrawal location. These people generally live outside the cities and in low-income areas.