Bendigo Bank has made a big announcement that will have a major impact on many communities in Australia. The bank will close 28 of its branches in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia in October 2025. This will leave many small towns without access to banking services. After an internal review, it was determined that the agency model was no longer viable, which led to this closure. The bank says that fewer customers using the service, higher operating costs, and more compliance requirements are the main reasons for this decision.
This choice will have an effect on many communities, especially those that are already having trouble getting financial services. Residents may now have to drive a long way to get to a bank because there isn’t one nearby. This makes it harder for people in remote areas to manage their money.
What is the model of the agency?
For more than 30 years, the agency model has allowed Bendigo Bank offer limited banking services through third parties in rural and regional areas where there weren’t enough customers to support a full branch. Even though this model worked well for providing basic banking services, Bendigo needs to reconsider its usefulness because fewer people are using it.
Finally It Happened: Tasmanian Town Fights for Survival as Bendigo Bank
Many people will have difficulties getting to their bank accounts easily when these agencies close. This could be a problem for people who need to do their banking in person.
Why They Are Closing
There are several reasons why Bendigo Bank is closing these branches, including
- Customers aren’t using the services as much anymore: The agency model isn’t working as well because fewer consumers in rural areas need face-to-face banking services.
- Costs are going up: The costs of maintaining these agencies running, especially in remote areas, are going up, making them financially unsustainable.
- Obligations to follow the rules: As the number of rules has grown, the costs of running agency services have gone up a lot.
Bendigo Bank said that even though it is dedicated to regional areas, this move was necessary to make sure the bank can keep meeting the changing needs of its 2.7 million customers.
Help for Customers Who Are Affected
Bendigo Bank has promised to help the customers who suffered by the end of the agency model. The bank will send these customers to nearby branches or Bank@Post locations so they can still get the banking services they need. The bank will also help customers switch to online banking services, such as e-banking, for those who may have trouble with digital platforms.
Taso Corolis, Bendigo’s chief customer officer, said, “We know that it may take some customers a while to get used to these changes, and we will help them through this transition.”
Communities in the area are hit hard.
Small towns in areas are experiencing the impact of these closures the most. For instance, Taroom, a town in Queensland that is 470 km west of Brisbane, will only have the post office as a place to do banking. It takes two hours to drive to the next Bendigo Bank branch, causing it difficult and costly for people in the area to get banking services.
Concerns about safety and financial security
Colin Boyce, the federal member for Flynn, went to a community meeting in Taroom and talked about how concerned he was about the safety of people who now have to drive a long way to get to a bank. He talked about how dangerous it can be to drive long distances with a lot of cash, especially in rural areas where emergency services aren’t always easy to get to.
The loss of Bendigo Bank’s branch also has bigger effects on the local economy, particularly in places where small businesses need to do their banking in person. The situation could put even more strain on the economy because businesses now have to drive 400 kilometres to get to a bank.
Public Anger and Political Action
Plenty of individuals in the area are frustrated about the recent news of these closures. The Bendigo Bank branch in Queenstown, Tasmania, has closed, leaving the town of about 2,000 people without a dedicated banking service. Senator Malcolm Roberts from Queensland spoke out in the Senate and said that the Queenstown branch closing was the “last bank on the entire West Coast of Tasmania.”
Senator Roberts also said that the Albanese government was ignoring the Senate enquiry into regional banking, which had made a number of suggestions about how to improve financial services in rural and regional areas. He said that the government’s inaction on the issue was bad for local communities, which are already having trouble with money.
Gap in Digital Skills
The digital skills gap is a further issue that has popped up because of the agency closures. As more people are forced to use online banking, many residents, especially seniors, may have trouble using digital platforms. Mayor Sarah Nicholas of the Alpine Shire Council in Victoria said she was sad that local services were going away and talked about how hard it is for older people who don’t know how to use technology.
“It’s fine for the digital natives who are coming through, but people who have to build those skills up later in life often find it hard to get around,” she said. Many people who live in rural areas feel the same way. They have trouble with poor connectivity to the internet and don’t know the way to do online banking well.
Bank Closures That Keep Happening and the Future of Rural Banking
Bendigo Bank’s closing of its agency model is part of a larger trend to cut back on in-person banking services in rural areas. Some banks, like the Commonwealth Bank, have closed branches or changed the way they do business, which makes it harder for people who live in remote areas to get to a bank in person.
Even though some branches have ceased operations, some areas have been able to keep them open by changing their models. The Commonwealth Bank in Myrtleford, Victoria, almost closed, but it changed its business model to stay open. Bendigo Bank, on the opposite hand, is going to permanently close its agency model. It doesn’t plan to offer any other services in many of the affected areas right now.
What will happen next in regional banking?
The future of rural banking is unclear as Bendigo Bank and other banks continue to pull back from rural areas. Communities that have relied on in-person services for decades now have to switch to digital solutions that may not always work or be easy to get to.
Bendigo Bank has said it will help affected customers find other services, but the closing of these agencies shows how the gap between urban and rural areas is getting bigger when it comes to access to banking services. As regional communities continue to deal with these changes, it is likely that more advocacy will be needed to make sure that rural Australians don’t have to deal with additional issues when it comes to getting access to financial services.
Final Thoughts
Many small towns in regional Australia that have relied on Bendigo Bank’s services for decades will be hurt by the bank’s decision to stop using its agency model. The bank made this choice as part of a larger plan to meet the needs of clients that are changing and costs that are going up. But the closure brings up important questions about the future of banking in rural Australia and the growing use of digital banking, which many people may not be able to access or use.
Bendigo Bank has promised to help affected customers by connecting them to other services, but the closures are a stark reminder of how hard it is for people in rural areas to get basic services compared to people in cities.
