Coles branch refuses to dispense cash to customers—find out why!
- Replies 33
In an unprecedented move, a Coles supermarket in the remote town of Kununurra, Western Australia, has ceased offering cash-out services at its registers.
This decision, a first for any Coles store in Australia, has been driven by an overwhelming demand for cash following the closure of all banks in the town.
This left some residents with no choice but to undertake an arduous hundred-kilometre journey to the nearest bank for their banking needs.
The Coles supermarket, typically a reliable source for customers to withdraw up to $300 at self-service checkouts or up to $400 at staffed checkouts or service desks, has found itself in an unprecedented situation.
The store has been inundated with requests for cash following the closure of the town's last operating bank, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), due to a vandalism attack.
The closure was due to smashed glass doors and two ATM screens in mid-January.
This followed the closures of CBA subsidiary Bankwest (set to close on April 18), NAB (September 2022), and Westpac (October 2022) branches in the town due to staffing issues.
'While Coles usually offers the convenience of facilitating cash-out for our customers, due to the increase in demand, we have made the decision to pause the option of cash-out at our Kununurra store,' a Coles spokesperson explained.
'We understand this is a challenging time for the community. However, we are not operationally equipped to handle large volumes of cash.'
The decision has left the residents of Kununurra in a difficult position.
With the nearest bank now over 800 kilometres away in Darwin or 1000 kilometres away in Broome, the community grappled with the reality of a cashless town.
Similar bank closures have led to some residents having to travel significant distances to access their money.
For instance, one man reportedly drove 130km to withdraw $300 cash from his bank in Western Australia, only to be refused.
The situation in Kununurra also highlighted the changing role of supermarkets and other businesses in providing access to cash.
With banks closing branches across the country, businesses like Coles and Australia Post are increasingly being relied upon to fill the gap.
However, as the situation in Kununurra showed, these businesses may not be equipped to handle the increased demand for cash.
Australia Post, for instance, recently shared that it was spending about $4,000 a week to send cash to their Coober Pedy branch in South Australia to ensure residents could access physical currency.
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Associate Professor of Finance Dr Angel Zhong explained, 'Businesses need to consider a lot of factors when making operational decisions because they need to balance how they make profit. [With Coles] it’s also about security concerns for staff.'
'But, to some extent, it is essential to ensure that essential services like access to cash are available to residents. Without these alternative options, this decision—not just by Coles but by other banks—will potentially leave people in that area without a convenient [option] to obtain physical currency.'
Dr Zhong also reiterated that dispensing cash to customers was not the supermarket’s 'primary business'.
'It is really important for businesses—especially banking businesses, whose primary business is providing access to financial matters—and community leaders to work together to find solutions that balance that need for security but also for operational efficiency for essential services.'
The situation in Kununurra is a microcosm of a larger trend happening across Australia.
According to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), about 420 bank branches across Australia closed in the year to June 2023, including 122 branches in regional and remote areas.
This trend, coupled with the increasing popularity of digital payments, has led some experts to predict that Australia will become functionally cashless by 2030.
However, the transition to a cashless society is not without its challenges.
As Dr Zhong noted, 'If we want to embrace this shift in technology, it's really important that we recognise the challenges faced by rural areas with slow internet and for the government to increase spending and community leaders to increase investment in infrastructure.'
'I believe that government and private entities can work together to invest in better internet infrastructure to improve connectivity so that rural areas are not left behind in this inevitable transition.'
What are your thoughts on this situation? Have you experienced similar issues in your community? Let us know in the comments below.
This decision, a first for any Coles store in Australia, has been driven by an overwhelming demand for cash following the closure of all banks in the town.
This left some residents with no choice but to undertake an arduous hundred-kilometre journey to the nearest bank for their banking needs.
The Coles supermarket, typically a reliable source for customers to withdraw up to $300 at self-service checkouts or up to $400 at staffed checkouts or service desks, has found itself in an unprecedented situation.
The store has been inundated with requests for cash following the closure of the town's last operating bank, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), due to a vandalism attack.
A Coles branch in Western Australia has ceased offering cash-out services to its customers. Image source: Shutterstock.
The closure was due to smashed glass doors and two ATM screens in mid-January.
This followed the closures of CBA subsidiary Bankwest (set to close on April 18), NAB (September 2022), and Westpac (October 2022) branches in the town due to staffing issues.
'While Coles usually offers the convenience of facilitating cash-out for our customers, due to the increase in demand, we have made the decision to pause the option of cash-out at our Kununurra store,' a Coles spokesperson explained.
'We understand this is a challenging time for the community. However, we are not operationally equipped to handle large volumes of cash.'
The decision has left the residents of Kununurra in a difficult position.
With the nearest bank now over 800 kilometres away in Darwin or 1000 kilometres away in Broome, the community grappled with the reality of a cashless town.
Similar bank closures have led to some residents having to travel significant distances to access their money.
For instance, one man reportedly drove 130km to withdraw $300 cash from his bank in Western Australia, only to be refused.
The situation in Kununurra also highlighted the changing role of supermarkets and other businesses in providing access to cash.
With banks closing branches across the country, businesses like Coles and Australia Post are increasingly being relied upon to fill the gap.
However, as the situation in Kununurra showed, these businesses may not be equipped to handle the increased demand for cash.
Australia Post, for instance, recently shared that it was spending about $4,000 a week to send cash to their Coober Pedy branch in South Australia to ensure residents could access physical currency.
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Associate Professor of Finance Dr Angel Zhong explained, 'Businesses need to consider a lot of factors when making operational decisions because they need to balance how they make profit. [With Coles] it’s also about security concerns for staff.'
'But, to some extent, it is essential to ensure that essential services like access to cash are available to residents. Without these alternative options, this decision—not just by Coles but by other banks—will potentially leave people in that area without a convenient [option] to obtain physical currency.'
Dr Zhong also reiterated that dispensing cash to customers was not the supermarket’s 'primary business'.
'It is really important for businesses—especially banking businesses, whose primary business is providing access to financial matters—and community leaders to work together to find solutions that balance that need for security but also for operational efficiency for essential services.'
The situation in Kununurra is a microcosm of a larger trend happening across Australia.
According to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), about 420 bank branches across Australia closed in the year to June 2023, including 122 branches in regional and remote areas.
This trend, coupled with the increasing popularity of digital payments, has led some experts to predict that Australia will become functionally cashless by 2030.
However, the transition to a cashless society is not without its challenges.
As Dr Zhong noted, 'If we want to embrace this shift in technology, it's really important that we recognise the challenges faced by rural areas with slow internet and for the government to increase spending and community leaders to increase investment in infrastructure.'
'I believe that government and private entities can work together to invest in better internet infrastructure to improve connectivity so that rural areas are not left behind in this inevitable transition.'
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