NAB slashes opening hours across regional branches as more bankers go online

Rather than close branches, NAB is halving the operating hours across regional areas in a move it says will save hundreds of jobs.

NAB will provide its regional bankers with the training and tools required to support customers across phone and online chat. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

Australia’s biggest agribusiness lender, NAB, is slashing the opening hours of more than 100 of its rural branches, further limiting the number of physical interactions available to people in country areas as it dives deeper into digital banking.

NAB says the move, which will result in rural banks opening only from 9.30am to 12.30pm, will save hundreds of jobs and free up its regional bankers to do phone and digital banking.

The reduced operating hours apply to 110 branches and are ­effective from August 17.

For the past three decades, people living in regional areas have seen a progressive erosion of essential services, with school, bank and hospital closures, while battling drought and bushfires, leading to a rapid decline in populations. At the same time, metropolitan centres have boomed, creating a gaping national divide.

But NAB group executive personal banking Rachel Slade said reducing the opening hours prevented the bank from closing branches, which it historically would have done, while maintaining working hours for its ­employees.

She said for several years its regional branches had operated on a variety of different models, including reduced hours and alternating operating days, generating potential confusion.

“We had 50 different arrangements across the country in these branches. So one of the opportunities is to standardise that so everyone knows what time we’re open,” Ms Slade said.

“The other thing is clearly there has been more and more changes in the way customers have been banking with us. And over 450 of our bankers trained to do different things, whether that’s work with the contact centre, working on live chat or helping our operations team with lending work.

“So after the doors close in those branches, our staff are still working.”

While Australians have embraced digital banking, many regional businesses rely heavily on access to a physical bank to deposit daily takings and withdraw cash floats. But Ms Slade said businesses would still be able to access crucial banking services.

“Our branches continue to be a really important part of many local communities, especially for local businesses. On average a quarter of transactions take place between 9.30am and 10.30am in our regional branches,” Ms Slade said. “Through this new model we can continue to be there to serve our customers and have meaningful conversations while also adapting to the way our customers are now banking.”

NAB is Australia’s biggest agribusiness bank, lending $1 in every $3 to farmers and employing 2000 staff across regional and rural Australia.

Ms Slade said more NAB employees would work remotely.

“Our colleagues will learn new skills to support customers in new ways, including on the phone and online chat, which presents the opportunity for our bankers to work remotely at times when more of our customers want to do their banking,” she said. “We have shown this is possible through COVID-19 restrictions, with more than 450 bankers trained in new skills to support customers in different ways.”

Ms Slade said it would also allow more regional branches to stay open at a time when more than 90 per cent of NAB customer interactions were happening online or by phone, while over-the-counter transactions were “declining steadily”, reducing by a quarter in the past year.

“We think this move will strike that balance, keeping the doors open at 110 branches around the country, providing the opportunity for around 300 bankers to learn skills while we continue to serve our customers well,” she said.

NAB will provide its regional bankers with the training and tools required to support customers across phone and online chat.

“We are there for our regional customers and communities — and we will continue to invest in our colleagues to give them the skills they need to do their jobs into the future,” Ms Slade said.

She said NAB’s investments outside of cities included establishing four “customer connect centres” in larger regional centres: Toowoomba, Tamworth, Bendigo and Bunbury, in the past year which have created more employment opportunities.