The impending closure of a Palmerston North bank is highlighting concerns immigrants and older people were being left behind with the shift to online banking.
Terrace End ASB, closing on March 9, is one of 23 ASB branches closing over the next month across New Zealand. This is due to dwindling numbers of customers regularly using branches.
Grey Power previously raised concerns the ongoing, industry-wide push towards online banking could leave some older people struggling to pay their bills – as cheques are phased out on top of the branch closures.
Grey Power board member Lew Findlay said it was frustrating banks thought holding online workshops was enough to address this.
“There’s still a large group of older people with no Internet and no interest in getting it.”
It left some seniors struggling to pay bills, facing the added cost and inconvenience of travelling further to find a physical bank.
That’s been a problem with bank closures in small towns for years, and now the trend was hitting larger centres, he said.
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ASB Terrace End customer Sokunthea Saren said it wasn’t easy for immigrants like her, and her 60-year-old uncle, either.
Saren said it could be hard to understand the phrasing on bank websites and apps, or to make yourself understood on the phone, when English wasn’t your native language.
“I can use [online banking] okay, but it’s not easy. My uncle has very little English… [he] and my Aunty can’t use it at all.”
Saren said it was easier to communicate face-to-face, and a personal touch was why she used ASB .
Her uncle joined ASB 10 years ago, and his praise of branch staff’s patience and understanding when trying to bridge the language gap, convinced her to open an account too.
“So, it’s really sad they’re closing my branch.”
Saren works at a Terrace End bakery across the road and will miss the convenience of being able to pop over in her lunch break – her break wasn’t long enough to get to the remainingASB branch in the CBD.
ASB regional manager Barry Coffey said Terrace End staff were holding a series of workshops, which began in mid-December, to teach customers how to use online banking and answer any questions they had.
When the branch closed, staff would continue to be employed, handling ASB’s online and phone customer service while working from home, he said.
The online workshops had worked well inprevious closures – customers aged 65 and over were now adopting online banking faster than any other age-group, with a 16 per cent increase in sign-ups in 2020.
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