‘So wrong’: Major bank days away from huge cashless move

A major bank is just days away from starting its shift towards digital only payments – and Aussies are not happy.

One of Australia’s largest banks is just days away from starting its shift towards digital only payments in a major move that has sparked backlash online.

From Monday May 20, customers will not be able to access over-the-counter services at Macquarie offices, deposit or collect cheques or order new chequebooks.

Phone banking services were ended at the start of March.

Come November 1, customers will not be able to write or deposit personal cheques, deposit or request bank cheques, deposit cash or cheques over the counter at NAB branches or make super contributions or payments via cheque.

Macquarie Bank customers will not be able to access over-the-counter services at offices from May 20. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

Customers can still access cash through ATMs with a Macquarie card and the bank has confirmed it will cover cash withdrawal fees from ATMs in Australia.

It is expected the changes will affect less than one per cent of the bank’s customer base.

The move towards only digital payments has been slammed by those in a pro-cash Facebook group, where some encouraged customers to boycott the bank.

“How sad,” one person wrote.

“That is so wrong,” said another.

“Boycott any cashless bank,” another wrote.

“So a bank without cash? Akin to a restaurant without food,” said another.

Others claimed they have stopped banking with Macquarie and have made the switch to other financial institutions.

“We’re jumping ship to Bendigo Bank,” one person wrote.

“I’ve done the same,” said another.

“I was considering transferring to this bank, looks like I’m not now!” another wrote.

A Macquarie spokesman told news.com.au less than one per cent of their customers use cheques or cash.

“Macquarie doesn’t have a traditional branch network and this update relates to cash and cheque services in three Macquarie locations in Australia,” they said.

“These services were used by less than 0.1 per cent of our customers, and we have been communicating with customers to ensure they have alternative arrangements.”

Customers can still withdraw cash at ATMs. Picture: iStock

The move comes amid a decline in cash use, accelerated by the Covid pandemic.

Only around 13 per cent of payments were made using cash in 2022, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s consumer payments survey. The figure is down from 70 per cent in 2007.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data also shows a dramatic drop in ATM use in recent years, down from 78 million withdrawals in December 2008 to only 30 million in June 2023.

“I’d say we’ll be functionally cashless by the end of 2025 — it’ll just be a complete rarity,” Richard Holden, professor of economics at UNSW Business School, told news.com.au last year.

“But unless the government gets involved to accelerate the process I think we’ll be actually cashless by 2030.”

Bank branches close

According to the Australian Banking Association (ABA), just under 99 per cent of all customer interactions with banks now occur digitally, while more than 1600 Australian bank branches closed between 2017 and 2022.

Westpac, ANZ, CommBank and NAB have ruled out going cashless, but the banks have shuttered branches across regional Australia, leaving some customers without the option to bank with cash.

In March, Westpac confirmed it would close four subsidiary Bank of Melbourne branches in Broadmeadows, Airport West, Werribee Plaza and South Morang in Victoria.

The closures follow the bank’s mid-February announcement it would shut down about 20 branches across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

In April, NAB closed two branches in the small North Queensland towns of Sarina and Proserpine, citing low customer use figures.

The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee is inquiring into the branch closures that have swept through regional Australia, with a final report expected in May.

– With NCA NewsWire