Thousands of people across regional Western Australia will soon be forced to drive hundreds of kilometres to access a bank after Westpac announces the closure of four more branches across the state.
The Wheatbelt town of Wongan Hills, Tom Price in the Pilbara, and Bridgetown and Collie in the south-west are all set to lose their Westpac branches by February 2023.
Dozens of devastated locals in Wongan Hills assembled for a crisis meeting on Monday, some in tears and all desperate for a solution.
The town lost its only other bank when ANZ closed last year.
Shire of Wongan-Ballidu president Mandy Stephenson said customers learnt of the closures through the media after Westpac failed to alert them.
"Bit of a shock because it didn't come from Westpac. We haven't been notified even though I'm a customer," she said.
Ms Stephenson said Wongan Hills was like a "central hub for other nearby towns", meaning the closure would be "devastating" for others as well.
"It's devastating for the Wheatbelt and for country towns," she said.
A limited banking service will be provided through the local post office, but it is not yet known if Westpac will continue to provide a local ATM.
Bankwest to reduce branch opening hours
In a separate move, Bankwest said it would adjust the opening hours of 29 WA regional branches, moving many from a five-day-a-week operation to either two or four days per week.
The bank said the move was due to what it said was a "continued shift in customer preferences across WA and nationwide toward digital banking options".
Bankwest country hub branches in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Bunbury will remain open five days a week.
Bankwest said its WA regional branch transactions had declined by 33 per cent on average over the past five years while its customer app usage had risen by 31 per cent in the past two years.
Facing a long drive
Recent census data revealed one-third of Wongan Hills residents were over the age of 60.
Pensioner Terry Bloxsome said he and many others would now have to drive to the Westpac branch in Northam — a 200-kilometre round trip.
"The cost of fuel would be $100 to get to Northam and back," he said.
"That's a big whack on your pension — I can't afford that."
He said the bank closure would impact all the small businesses in town.
"They're all closing. We're starting to lose everything," Mr Bloxsome said.
"All the country towns, they're all dying."
A heavy price in Pilbara
In Tom Price, Shire of Ashburton chief executive Kenn Donohoe also found out about the branch closure through the media rather than the bank.
He said Westpac's poor communication was "appalling" and vulnerable members of the community would be hit hard.
"The Shire of Ashburton actually banks with Westpac," Mr Donohoe said.
"Our budget is in excess of $100 million and nobody even rang the local government to advise us that they were closing the office in Tom Price.
"There are parents of children with disabilities and older people who don't use the ATM who rely on the services of in-person customer support."
The Westpac ATM is the only one in the town, and it is unclear whether it will stay open.
John Hanlon runs an automotive business and has lived in the town since the 1990s.
While he believed it was reasonable to close a failing business, he said the bank's poor communication was particularly disappointing.
"Communicating with your client is something that they should be doing a lot more than they are," he said.
"If they talked to us, we would have more confidence and understanding in what's happening."
Mr Hanlon said a big part of dealing with Westpac initially was their physical presence in the town.
He was now reassessing his banking options.
'We can stop this'
In the state's south west, Bridgetown will lose its branch in December leaving customers facing an hour's drive to the nearest Westpac office.
Local Robyn McSweeney said her experience as a minister in the former state government made her well-prepared to deal with "corporate types".
She had already flown to Sydney to meet with Westpac officials and lobby against the closure.
"I believe that Westpac hasn't done their due diligence," Ms McSweeney said.
"I just want them to know where Bridgetown is, what we do there, and I left them in no doubt that closing this bank was a silly thing to do.
"We can stop this. I'm hoping that everyone in town complains to Westpac in Sydney."
She was also in a unique position by being the owner of the building that Westpac rented out in Bridgetown.
Ms McSweeney said she offered "at-cost" rent to try to convince them to stay.
"I said to them, 'You can have it. Just have the bank and pay the rates and I'm happy with that'," she said.
"But that's not going to get me very far because the rent is a drop in the ocean for them."
A financial decision
The closures mean a total of 225 Westpac branches will have shut across Australia since January last year, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs.
A Westpac Group spokesperson said "declining customer use of branches means … we may take a difficult decision to leave a branch location".
"We take steps to ensure customers are notified in advance about changes," the Westpac spokesperson said.
They also said letters had been sent out to customers about the closures, but they might not have arrived until after media reports.
Ms Stephenson said the Shire of Wongan Hills would work with politicians and local businesses to try to save their last remaining branch.
"Our voice matters," she said.
"Having a banking service close only 12 months ago, this is our last bank and our last chance to keep it."
