Murgon Commonwealth Bank one of 90 regional branches set to close its doors by lunchtime

From early October, 90 regional Commonwealth Bank branches will be making huge changes to their opening times.

From early October, 90 regional Commonwealth Bank branches will close their doors by lunchtime. File Photo.

Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington has slammed Australia’s largest bank for slashing opening hours at 90 regional branches, calling the move “death by a thousand cuts” for towns like Murgon that rely on face-to-face service.

From early October, Murgon’s Commonwealth Bank branch will close its doors at lunchtime, servicing local customers between 9.30am and 1pm.

Mrs Frecklington said the decision is just another example of services being stripped from regional areas, saying Commonwealth Bank does not comprehend the importance of face-to-face services to regional towns like Murgon.

“This is like a death-by-a-thousands cuts. We know that once major banks start reducing their hours, they then claim not enough people are using the walk-in service and the next thing we see is branch closures,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“Regional towns like Murgon really value these types of services and once again we’re seeing large companies relinquish their commitment to serve regional areas.

Mrs Frecklington said this has sadly become a common theme for the big banks, who believe they can service their customers just as well online.

“However, for community groups and businesses it will always be necessary for them to have access to physical banking services,” she said.

“And we all know that many people in regional areas have poor internet connection, or no computer access at all, so internet banking isn’t always the answer.”

This follows the closure of Murgon’s National Australia Bank in April.

Executive general manager customer service network Mark Jones said the reduced hours are intended to enable Commonwealth Bank to meet customer needs as more people switch to online services, while ensuring jobs stay in regional communities.

“We understand these changes may be an adjustment for some of our customers, and the team at their local branch will continue to be available to help them find the solutions that best suit their needs,” Mr Jones said.

Other branches set to reduce opening hours on October 4 include:

• Atherton
• Ayr
• Biloela
• Charleville
• Charters Towers
• Childers
• Chinchilla
• Goondiwindi
• Ingham
• Longreach
• Port Douglas
• Proserpine
• Roma
• St George
• Tully

Mrs Frecklington said she’ll be writing to the Commonwealth Bank to express her disappointment about the reduction of hours at Murgon to request their decision be overturned.

Originally published as Murgon Commonwealth Bank one of 90 regional branches set to close its doors by lunchtime