Town’s only bank to close

BankWAW has operated a branch agency out of Murray River Council’s Moulamein Business Centre for many years, but data shows declining use of the face-to-face service.

Its data shows declining transactions and increased online banking.

To assist customers, BankWAW is providing face-to-face customer support from the Moulamein Business Centre over the coming weeks.

Murray River Council Mayor John Harvie said council is also committed to working with BankWAW as they support Moulamein customers to transition to alternative banking arrangements.

“Council acknowledges this may present some challenges for the community,” he said.

“BankWAW will provide extensive support to customers until the end of June, so I would encourage customers to make use of this support to help them find alternative banking services.”

A customer support meeting was held by BankWAW last night.

In its information package for customers, BankWAW highlighted that in 2024, it had 130 Moulamein customers. Of these, 92 were personal banking customers, and 38 were a business or club banking customers.

Between January and December of last year, the face-to-face branch accepted 30 personal banking transactions and 26 business or club banking transactions.

The same information indicates that 74 per cent of their Moulamein customers are registered for online banking, with 88 per cent of those active users.

“Over time, we have seen a change in the way people bank with us, a decline in over-the-counter transactions and a significant reduction in the level of business connected to the agency,” the company said.

“That, along with current regulatory and compliance requirements, including our Australian Financial Services Licence, means that it is no longer feasible for BankWAW to deliver banking services via an agency partnership in Moulamein.”

For those who would prefer to bank in person, NAB, Westpac, Commonwealth and Bendigo Bank customers can use Bank@Post at the Moulamein Post Office.