Bendigo Bank will shut its Queenstown branch this September, leaving the West Coast without any dedicated walk-in banking facilities.
The Orr Street branch is set to close on Friday, September 26.
The closure will force customers to travel 152 kilometres to the nearest branch in Burnie or rely on the local post office for basic banking services.
The Commonwealth Bank was the last major bank to pull out of Queenstown, closing its doors in 2021.
Bendigo Bank says 74% of its Queenstown customers are registered for online or phone banking and 63% use these digital services regularly.
“With more people choosing to bank online, fewer customers are visiting branches to do their banking,” the bank stated in a closure notice to customers.
Only 21% of customers visited the Queenstown branch more than once in the past year, according to the bank, while over 16% have chosen to bank elsewhere.
Personal banking cash withdrawals at the branch dropped from 150 in 2023 to just 61 so far this year, while business cash deposits fell from 1,757 to 1,219 over the same period.
The bank has identified 308 regular personal customers and 66 business customers who visit three or more times a year, with 190 personal and 197 business customers classified as heavy users.
Bendigo Bank also plans to close its Kings Meadows branch next month for similar reasons, instead directing customers to its Launceston CBD branch.
