Australia Post CEO Paul Graham says banks are nationalising the costs of providing rural banking services to the post office, and its Bank@Post service – which lenders use as cover as they shut branches – is set to become an albatross around Australia Post’s neck if service contracts are not urgently renegotiated.

Echoing banks’ ongoing discussions with Armaguard to put the cash industry on a firmer financial footing, Mr Graham said Australia Post needed more money and would rely on “material change in condition” clauses in its contracts with 80 banks, including three of the majors, to increase the $90 million the lenders currently pay each year.