Flood-battered Lismore residents still waiting on return of three major banks

George Lekakis

The country’s major banks are scrambling to restore transactional banking services in flood ravaged parts of New South Wales, with ANZ indicating last night that it might not be able to provide customers in Lismore with access to cash until next week.

Three of the majors are struggling to reinstate services amid a sharp spike in demand for cash in the Lismore region since the end of last week.

Lismore-based Summerland Credit Union was the region’s only source of cash until Tuesday after it rolled out a makeshift branch on the weekend at a university campus on the outskirts of the town.

The delays re-establishing access to cash in Lismore have compounded the challenges facing residents in the town who have been unable to access emergency support payments from the Commonwealth Government.

While the government payments were deposited electronically into bank accounts of Lismore residents last week, the money was not drawable because all branches, ATMs, EFTPOS and mobile networks have been out of service.

As of Wednesday night, National Australia Bank was the only major bank with an on-the-ground presence in Lismore.

A NAB spokesperson said the bank had trucked in a portable banking store – known as a “Bank in a Box” – on Tuesday.

“NAB has set up a portable bank in Lismore to help provide banking services to the local community,” the spokesperson said. 

“The ‘Bank in a Box’ provides a meeting space for customers to have conversations with a banker, full access to digital banking options via iPads, SmartATMs for cash withdrawal and deposits, and Express Business Deposit facilities for small business customers.”  

The spokesperson said NAB was waiving fees on other banks’ customers withdrawing cash from the ATMs it had trucked into Lismore.

ANZ could not confirm whether any of its services would be restored by the end of this week.

An ANZ spokesman told Banking Day last night that bank’s Lismore branch was “on track” to be operating again at the end of next week.

The spokesman said the bank had also despatched an automated teller machine equipped with a satellite and generator but he could not indicate when it would arrive in the stricken regional city.

Westpac indicated last night that it expected to have a portable branch in Lismore on Friday.

“We are working to restore banking services in Lismore as quickly as possible,” the Westpac spokesperson said. 

“Our Bank in a Box will be arriving in Lismore on Friday and we are supporting customers who require additional support through our disaster response package.

“This includes issuing vouchers to customers in need to purchase essential goods and items.”

Commonwealth Bank is expecting to have a makeshift branch established in Lismore today (Thursday 10 March).

“We are here to support customers with services on the ground,” a CBA spokesperson said.

“From late Thursday 10 March, a pop up branch will be available for residents to access cash and banking services.

“The pop up branch will provide many of the same features of a regular Commonwealth Bank branch, including a teller and ATM to accept cash and cheque deposits.”