DURING February, Westpac announced that it would close 22 branches nationally during 2019, citing a move to online banking by customers and a decline in branch transactions as the reason for the closures. The Westpac branch in Benalla is one of the branches earmarked to close. These closures follow on from 13 branches closed during 2018.
The highly successful Goulburn Murray Credit Union has confirmed to continue its commitment to Benalla, despite the fact that Roy Morgan research figures have identified that the number of Australians visiting their local branch has decreased by 27.2 percent from 2014, while mobile banking has surged 62.2 percent over that same period.
GMCU CEO, Melissa Ralph commented that, “GMCU is very proud of the connections that we have made with our communities. The number of members utilising our branches is much higher than the banking average, and we believe that this is in part because banking is about more than transactions – it’s about being able to talk to a local in-person when making important financial decisions like buying your first home, or when you need help to make sure your banking is working in the best way that it can for you.
“GMCU continues to invest in our online offering and we launched our new GMCU app over the last few weeks, however we also remain committed to making sure that our members have access to face-to-face banking in our local communities.
“Our commitment to Benalla is an example of how we continue to offer a local banking alternative to our region.”
