Bank Branch Closures
Updated: May 6, 2021
Edits:
Since publication, Westpac (655 Glenferrie Road) reopened on 22 March 2021 and remains open Monday to Friday 10:00am to 2:00pm. Opening hours to be extended when employee numbers increase with easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
On 26 March 2021, Westpac Group announced the closure of 48 bank branches across Australia including Bank of Melbourne (701 Glenferrie Road).
As of May 2021, NAB (637 Glenferrie Road) has permanently closed and the ATM outside of ANZ (687 Glenferrie Road) has been removed.
Despite banks being permitted to operate during Melbourne’s multiple lockdowns over the past year due to COVID-19, the majority of Glenferrie’s bank branches remain closed.
Bank branches have always been an important part of our community, with local businesses and residents utilising their in-person services from simple money exchange and deposits to loans, insurance, and more. However, over time the use of online banking has increased while face-to-face interactions with bank clerks have become less necessary for some.
According to the Westpac Group, “currently 98% of transactions are taking place online”. Therefore, they explained, they have temporarily closed Westpac (655 Glenferrie Road) and Bank of Melbourne (701 Glenferrie Road) as part of “a small number of branches where we are seeing significantly less foot traffic during this time” and are “continuing to monitor demand”. However, the Westpac building is currently for sale with vacant possession.
Even before the pandemic, many of the banks noticed an increase in customers engaging with and using online banking. According to NAB, the Hawthorn branch (637 Glenferrie Road) “remains closed due to this lower than normal demand for in-branch services”. NAB were not able to confirm when the branch would open again.
ANZ has made a clear decision about their Glenferrie branch, permanently closing it along with four other Victorian branches. While the bank has now vacated the building, there is still an ATM outside 687 Glenferrie Road. ANZ explained that “each year we see a 10% reduction in customer transactions while demand in ... non-branch ... customer contact centres has grown dramatically”.
Commonwealth Bank (661-665 Glenferrie Road) is the only bank, at the moment, open in Glenferrie Hawthorn. However, the bank did comment that they do “have some temporarily closed branches, mostly in metropolitan areas and often near another branch that is operating normally”.
While presently Glenferrie may no longer have an array of bank branches available at their doorstep, reducing some amenity of the precinct, banks are still working to provide their services to customers in other ways. Banking can be done online and over the phone, with many banks providing 24/7 service, while ATMs remain operational outside local bank branches and Australia Post (782 Glenferrie Road) offers a Bank@Post service.
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