A steep fall in the number of ATMs and payment terminals around Australia over the past year has exacerbated the ongoing decline in access to branches and other face-to-face banking facilities.
APRA updated its annual ADI points of presence statistics yesterday, reporting that the number of branches fell 7.1 per cent to 4014 in the year to June 2022. Over the past five years the number of branches has fallen by 29.5 per cent.
The number of “other face-to-face” facilities (mostly Bank@Post outlets) fell 0.9 per cent to 4455 in the year to June and has fallen 7.1 per cent over the past five years.
The number of ATMs fell 17.3 per cent to 6412 in the year to June and has fallen 53.6 per cent over the past five years.
The number of Eftpos payment terminals fell 17.7 per cent to 699,211 in the year to June and has fallen more than 20 per cent since the peak of 874,138 in 2019.
There were falls in all states and territories, in major cities, regional centres and remote areas.
Banks have been cutting branch numbers for years, as more customers take up online banking services. It had been assumed that customers would have ready access to cash at ATMs and at the point of sale, but this is no longer the case for many people.
Last year, the Reserve Bank reported that significant “cash gaps” had emerged in Australia, with around 250,000 people living more than 15 kilometres from their closest cash withdrawal location. The RBA said these people generally live outside the cities and in low-income areas.
The fall in ATM and payment terminal numbers is partly an effect of COVID-related store closures and numbers may recover. But that remains to be seen.
The issue of branch closures in regional areas was addressed by a taskforce that reported earlier this month. It called on the Australian Banking Association to strengthen its branch closure protocol and introduce a customer care standard to improve communication and support in communities where branches are closed or their operating hours reduced.
It also called on banks to conduct and publish regional bank branch closure impact assessments, giving reasons for the closure and the engagement that will occur with customers and other stakeholders.
And it recommended Australia Post and its partner banks do more to promote its Bank@Post service, including developing transition programs to Bank@Post when branches close.