Community & Business
10 May, 2021
How long for Clifton NAB branch?
A revelation last week that NAB will close its branch at Texas on the state border has revived speculation in Clifton about the future of the NAB branch here.
The NAB branch is the only full service bank in Texas and the announcement has created concern in the town.
The announcement has also caused Clifton locals to question how long it will be before their town is left in a similar situation.
Speculation on the future of the Clifton branch was fuelled a couple of years ago when the bank closed its branch at Allora.
While local comment had died off, it has arisen again during the last week.
There is specific concern from local business people, particularly those in the retail sector whose customers use cash for their purchases.
Adding fuel to the local speculation are several factors, including the drive by NAB and Australia Post to promote banking at the local post office.
Pamphlets about this have been on the counter at the local bank branch for some weeks.
In addition to this, a unit has been placed in the branch to enable staff to teach customers how to utilise internet banking.
Several elderly residents have told The Clifton Courier that they have no interest in that style of transaction.
A further pointer to a reduction in service came when one significant local organisation was told that it would have to lodge an order for its cash requirements several weeks in advance, as deliveries of cash to the Clifton branch were being cut back to once a month.
Following the closure of the Allora NAB branch, many residents of that town and district transferred their banking to the Warwick Credit Union (WCU), which maintains a branch at Allora.
Earlier speculation about the Clifton NAB branch led to the Clifton and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry making an approach to WCU to see if it had any interest in establishing a branch locally.
At the time, the Credit Union’s CEO, Lewis von Stieglitz indicated that this was unlikely.
The Credit Union had conducted research which revealed that a branch at Clifton would not be feasible.
In response to a request from The Clifton Courier for comment, NAB Retail Customer Executive, Nathan Hooper outlined the current situation:
“Our Clifton branch team continue to be there for customer conversations as well as supporting education on evolving digital channels, including video banking, BYO device sessions, and online security,” Mr Hooper said.
“Any changes regarding the branch status will be communicated with our customers.
“With more than 93% of customer interactions now taking place over the phone, by video or online we’re also investing in improving our digital platform to make it easier and faster.
“Our business and agribusiness customers in and around Clifton are also well supported, with dedicated bankers out on the road spending time visiting our customers at their businesses and farms.
“Outside our branch opening hours, our customers can also bank at any of Australia Post’s 3,500 outlets around the country, where that can check account balances, xpay bills and make deposits up to $10,000 cash, or withdrawals up to $2,000 per day.”
