NAB's Narooma branch will close its doors for the final time on Thursday, December 8.
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It was the news that NAB's customers in Narooma had been dreading for years.
The branch planned to close a few years ago, but the community had fought to keep it open, NAB customer Laurie Clerget said.
"They tried very hard to keep it here," Mr Clerget said.
"I think they got over 100,000 signatures on a petition."
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When Mr Clerget first heard the news, he said "that sucks. Is it true?"
One female customer who did not want to be identified said she refused to drive to Moruya to continue to bank with NAB and would be switching to CBA, the last remaining major bank in Narooma.
The bank has produced a flyer for customers that explains they can continue to do face-to-face banking at the Moruya branch, which is a 48-minute, 51-kilometre drive away, or use the banking facilities at the Narooma Post Office.
NAB's customers in Bermagui will have a 49-minute, 61km drive to their nearest branch in Bega.
The bank's flyer gave three main reasons for closing the branch:
- Over the past few years fewer customers are coming into branches to do their banking and foot traffic has lessened.
- Approximately 58 per cent of its Narooma customers have only visited the branch once in the last year.
- More than 72 per cent of Narooma customers are also using other locations.
Charities, the elderly and the lonely impacted
However, the flyer said eight per cent of its customers rely on branch-only banking and no other methods.
Charities that receive considerable cash and coin donations are regular users of bank branches. Not all their treasurers may be comfortable standing on the street feeding cash and coins into an ATM.
Other regular visitors to physical banks are elderly people not confident on the internet and may be more vulnerable to online scams.
Face-to-face banking is vital social interaction for some people living alone.
Recognising these groups of people, one of the key issues for which the NSW CWA was currently advocating is maintaining banking services in rural, regional and remote communities.
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