Tatura's Commonwealth Bank branch to close

By Max Stainkamph

Mar 12, 2021

Tatura's Commonwealth Bank branch will close at the end of May, forcing customers to travel to Shepparton or Kyabram to do their banking in person.

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Flyers were distributed in Tatura last week informing customers of the news the branch would close for good on May 28.

A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said the branch had recorded a 47 per cent drop in transactions in the last five years and coronavirus restrictions had caused a further fall.

No jobs will be lost, with staff redeployed to branches in Shepparton or Kyabram.

Lagozzino's Top Pub owner Jenny Lagozzino said the loss of the bank would hurt the town, including her mother who'd banked with Commonwealth Bank for 55 years.

“She walks up the street nearly every day to go to the bank and for her (the bank closing) will be such a hardship,” she said.

“It takes away her independence, she'll have to come with me when I go into Shepparton once a week to go to the bank, it'll be totally different for her."

Ms Lagozzino also said her businesses in town would be inconvenienced, with her massage parlour banking with Commonwealth Bank and the pub dependent on the branch for change in the tills.

“We go through $50 worth of coins in 20 minutes with the machines like the jukebox and the pool tables,” she said.

“Unless I go into Shepparton to top up, I'll really struggle and so will other businesses in town."

The bank spokesperson said 30 per cent of customers at the Tatura branch used other branches and the LPO Australia Post office can also be used to "conduct personal and business banking transactions such as withdrawals, deposits and bill payments including passbooks during normal business hours".

“Foot traffic across our branch network remains down more than 50 per cent in some branches as people follow social distancing and imposed lockdown restrictions,” they said.

“Before the coronavirus pandemic, around two-thirds of our customers were using digital channels for their everyday banking needs, like transferring funds, making payments and checking account balances, while only 6 per cent of customers visited our branches for these tasks."

“Naturally, this has also resulted in a significant increase in customers self-serving on the app or via NetBank, and a significant reduction in foot traffic in our branches.”

The pandemic has also resulted in an 800 per cent increase in people calling assistance through contact centres as a result of the pandemic.