ANZ Bank is proposing to close five “low volume” branches in small-town New Zealand.
Branches that face the axe include those in Milton, Ngaruawahia, Otorohanga, Te Aroha, and the branch at Massey University near Palmerston North.
Already slated for closure is the ANZ branch in Taihape, which will close its doors on October 14.
This latest discussion of bank closures comes just weeks after Westpac had proposed closing 19 of its branches – mainly in rural areas, including in Te Aroha and Otorohanga.
Stuff.co.nz reported that First Union national organiser Tali Williams said if ANZ goes ahead with the closures then Ngaruawahia and Milton would be left without a bank branch.
About 20 to 25 employees would be affected, she said.
ANZ spokesman Stefan Herrick said the bank was proposing to close some “low volume” branches and was consulting with staff on the future of their roles and options should the branch close.
All staff would be offered another role with ANZ elsewhere and the bank would pay relocation costs.
Staff who did not relocate would be offered severance.
"We have worked hard to maintain our branch presence but we consider these branches are no longer viable, a situation that is unlikely to improve as the number of customers using branches continues to drop steadily," Herrick said.
In most locations ANZ would still leave an ATM so customers could continue to access cash, and could make deposits.
Changes to the way people do much of their banking has been cited as the major reason for branch closures.
The vast majority of customers across all the major banks now prefer to use mobile banking or internet banking.
Herrick said "The average ANZ customer uses mobile banking one to two times a day and visits a branch only two times a year."
The number of customers using internet banking increased 147% between 2013 and 2016 while the number using the ANZ goMoney mobile app had increased 427% during the same period.