Commonwealth Bank will shut 45 Bankwest branches in Western Australia by the end of the year and convert 15 more (all in regional areas) to the main CBA brand.
Going “fully digital” is the new strategy for the Bankwest brand, and a forerunner, conceivably, of a broader pivot by Commonwealth Bank.
In a statement to customers on its website late yesterday, Bankwest said “after careful consideration, we’ve made the decision to close the Bankwest branch network by October 2024.
“We intend to complete these conversions by the end of 2024.
“As a result, all Bankwest ATMs will also be closing. We no longer operate off-premises ATMs, which means that machines will no longer be maintained following individual branch closures.”
The bank said this change “enables us to invest in the digital channels the majority of our customers are increasingly choosing to do their banking with us”.
?According to the bank 97 per cent of all Bankwest transactions are now completed digitally, while fewer than two per cent of customers are visiting a branch regularly.”
WA Bankwest branches average about 30 transactions per day, and in regional WA this halves to 15.
ANZ has already converted many of its branches to cashless (or plans to do so).