THE Quirindi community has slammed NAB’s decision to reduce operating hours at its Quirindi branch.
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It comes just weeks after NAB announced it would close its Bingara branch on May 31, striking fear in Quirindi residents the town could follow a similar fate.
Liverpool Plains Shire Council deputy mayor Doug Hawkins said he received word that NAB Quirindi could reduce its branch opening hours to 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday as early as next month.
“I think banks want to go more digital, and unfortunately, small towns like Quirindi are going to suffer,” Cr Hawkins said.
“The electronic side of things is killing it.”
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has also been vocal in his disgust at the conduct of the big four banks, slamming the National Australia Bank for announcing last Friday the closure of its Bingara branch on May 31.
Cr Hawkins said business people and the elderly would be most hurt by the changes.
“People are quite angry about it, the business people in particular,” he said.
“Hopefully (it’s not the start of more closures).
“We would resist that as much as we can.
“We do have a large population of elderly people who don’t want to go online.
“Going on experiences like Bingara, it’d be disappointing for us.”
The news comes just weeks after NAB announced it would close its Bingara branch.
“I wouldn’t want to see any more cutbacks,” Cr Hawkins said.
Quirindi currently has a NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Regional Australia Bank.
A NAB spokeswoman confirmed to Fairfax Media the bank’s Quirindi branch “will still be open five days a week, and while we’re reducing our hours to 10am to 2pm, we are now opening at lunchtime following feedback from our customers that it would be more convenient and make banking easier for them”.
The changes will come into effect on April 9.
“We’re seeing reduced traffic at our Quirindi branch as more of our customers choose internet, telephone, and mobile banking, but we’ve also changed our hours to open over lunch because our customers, especially our business customers, told us that it would make their banking easier and more convenient,” the spokeswoman said.
“We’re letting our customers and the community know through flyers and signs in our branches that we put up last Wednesday, and our branch staff, as well as our business and agri bankers, are speaking with our customers either in the branch or when they’re out on the road.”
The spokeswoman insisted the bank understood not all customers used electronic services.
“We continually review our branch network and look at how our customers are banking with us to make sure we have the right services in the right locations and that we open at the right times, which is why we’ve changed our hours to open over lunch,” she said.
“Our customers continue to have 24/7 access to Smart ATMs for most transactions.
“While increasingly our customers are banking online or on the phone, we understand some of our customers prefer or need to bank in person.
“The Quirindi branch will still be open five days a week, and will now be open over lunch to make it easier and more convenient for our customers.
“NAB customers can also do their banking in person at other times at the Quirindi post office.”
