At least 16 of 19 Westpac banks earmarked for closure will definitely close, First Union's Tali Williams tells Checkpoint.
Many parts of small-town New Zealand have been left reeling by the news that Westpac is to close 19 of its branches.
A spokeswoman said customers were rapidly changing the way they bank and expect 24/7 access to their banking. The closures would happen in Kamo, Raglan, Otorohanga, Putaruru, Te Aroha, Cherrywood (Tauranga), Whangamata, Broadway Ave (Palmerston North), Wainuiomata, Waikanae, Carterton, Takaka, Stoke, Fendalton Mall and Bishopdale (both Christchurch), Gardens (Dunedin), Fairlie, Ranfurly and Te Anau, in early November.
One of the worst hit towns is Fairlie, which will no longer have any bank branches.
Mackenzie District Mayor Claire Barlow said the move was disappointing.
But she said the bank had listened somewhat to locals' fears and was intending to put several measures in place to compensate for the loss of services.
That included leaving the bank's ATM in place, providing a cash deposit box so businesses can still bank cash, and providing a public computer in town so people could access internet banking.
But other parts of the country were still worried about what it meant for the smaller centres.
Kapiti Coast District councillor, mayoral candidate and organiser of a protest at the bank late last month, K Gurunathan, feared for the elderly.
read on: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/84526330/westpac-to-close-at-least-16-branches-union-says
Love Always
mudra
Many parts of small-town New Zealand have been left reeling by the news that Westpac is to close 19 of its branches.
A spokeswoman said customers were rapidly changing the way they bank and expect 24/7 access to their banking. The closures would happen in Kamo, Raglan, Otorohanga, Putaruru, Te Aroha, Cherrywood (Tauranga), Whangamata, Broadway Ave (Palmerston North), Wainuiomata, Waikanae, Carterton, Takaka, Stoke, Fendalton Mall and Bishopdale (both Christchurch), Gardens (Dunedin), Fairlie, Ranfurly and Te Anau, in early November.
One of the worst hit towns is Fairlie, which will no longer have any bank branches.
Mackenzie District Mayor Claire Barlow said the move was disappointing.
But she said the bank had listened somewhat to locals' fears and was intending to put several measures in place to compensate for the loss of services.
That included leaving the bank's ATM in place, providing a cash deposit box so businesses can still bank cash, and providing a public computer in town so people could access internet banking.
But other parts of the country were still worried about what it meant for the smaller centres.
Kapiti Coast District councillor, mayoral candidate and organiser of a protest at the bank late last month, K Gurunathan, feared for the elderly.
read on: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/84526330/westpac-to-close-at-least-16-branches-union-says
Love Always
mudra
