Rural areas struggle as ATMs and branches disappear
More than 200 bank branches across Australia closed last year, with regional areas feeling the hardest impact.
According to analysis from Canstar, the number of ATMs has also dropped dramatically, with 6,000 machines vanishing over the last five years.
While closures slowed compared to 2023, remote communities are facing longer journeys to access in-person banking.
Canstar’s Sally Tindall noted that closures in rural areas can force people to travel for hours just to reach a branch or ATM.
The rise of digital payments has coincided with the decline of physical banking services, but not everyone is comfortable with online banking.
A sudden outage in Westpac’s online banking this week left many customers unable to access their accounts, highlighting the risks of relying on digital systems.
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and ANZ have promised not to close any regional branches until 2026, but the shrinking presence of bank services in rural Australia remains a concern.
