Westpac group customers can now use any of the group’s branches for their cash transactions, following a technology upgrade that has connected the Westpac, St George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne branch networks. The bank said the change will give customers access to more banking outlets. The bank is also co-locating branches, opening more than 80 co-located branches since the program started in 2021. The biggest beneficiaries are customers of the smaller brands. BankSA customers have access to 488 additional branches across Australia, Bank of Melbourne customers have access to 521 additional branches and St George customers 438 additional branches. Westpac customers have access to 176 additional branches, including 102 St George branches in New South Wales, ACT and Queensland, 20 Bank of Melbourne branches in Victoria and 53 BankSA branches in South Australia. Transactions that can be performed at any group branch include deposits, withdrawals, funds exchanges, bank cheque services, passbook issuing and service, personal internet banking, estate management and personal customer ID and profile maintenance. Westpac chief executive Peter King foreshadowed the new branch access regime in his appearance before the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee last week. The committee is inquiring into branch closures in regional Australia. King defended the bank’s provision of face-to-face services, saying it is investing A$200 million over 10 years to partner with Bank@Post, which has around 3500 sites. The bank has also recently announced an agreement with atmx to give customers access to 1700 more fee-free ATMs, of which 500 are in regional Australia. “We are co-locating in regional centres, which allows us to invest and stay in those locations,” King said. The bank paused closures in eight locations following the establishment of the inquiry. King said 96 per cent of Westpac customer transactions are digital and customers who only use a branch represent only around 3 per cent of its 13 million customers. “When we look at branch use we look at number of customers, use of services in the branch, we look at channel usage. We look at how the majority of customers are banking and we look at transition issues,” King said. “What is the service and how do we deliver it in an efficient way? We have a focus on helping people transition to the digital economy and making sure all our services are available through digital channels.”