Bank@Post services fall short as NAB exits Kununurra, says business body

Kununurra residents and businesses will be seriously disadvantaged by the closure of the NAB branch with the bank being accused of not having the best interests of the town at heart, a peak business body has claimed. The East Kimberley town has only one financial institution, the Commonwealth Bank, in town after NAB announced last week that it will not be reopening its branch on Ebony Street which it shut in 2022 citing staff shortages. NAB informed Kununurra customers they could continue to deposit and withdraw cash at Australia Post. However, East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Keda Bond said that just puts more pressure on the post office which has its own staffing and resourcing issues. Bank@Post alllows customers to deposit up to $9999 cash, up to $999,999.99 in cheque deposits and withdraw up to $2000 per day. Ms Bond said Bank@post services were limited and less secure than a bank when it came to larger transactions. “The closest NAB banks are in Darwin and Broome. You often have to give original documents for various transactions, even getting a home loan, so that will slow down people’s banking needs significantly. “Also there are issues with security around the deposits, the larger transactions just won’t be able to happen.” Ms Bond also said Bank@Post won’t have the capacity to assist customers who want to withdraw cash but don’t have identification, which is prevalent among Aboriginal customers. “They can do that in the bank because they’ve got certain things set up with security questions. Australia Post just can’t do that.” NAB is the third bank in the last two years to shut its Kununurra branch with Westpac closing in 2022 and Bankwest shutting up shop in April. EKCCI surveyed businesses last year to find out how they had been impacted by the closures. It found 76 per cent of respondents said they needed a bank in town to run their business and 38 per cent used the service weekly. More than half said they would lose customers if they had to go cashless. The businesses also said recent bank closures meant they had more trouble sourcing change, had greater security risks with large amounts of cash onsite and had to fly to Darwin or Perth to verify their identity when making changes to their accounts. NAB retail executive regional WA, Kylie Sanders said it was a difficult decision to close the branch permanently. “The decision to close a branch is never easy and we are working with the Kununurra community to continue to support their banking needs.” Ms Sanders said more than 80 per cent of Kununurra customers used online banking. They were also able to use other bank ATMs fee-free. NAB is working to find another site for its ATM in town. There will be information and support sessions at the Ebony Street branch on December 3 and 5 between 9.30am and 12.30pm. Cash services at the bank will not be available at this time.