The Australian banking landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, and it's not all good news for consumers, especially those in regional areas.

A worrying trend has emerged among the country's major banks, including Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), which could have far-reaching implications for Australians.

The number of bank-owned ATMs has been cut by more than half since 2017, and bank branches have also seen a significant decline.

This trend is causing concern among politicians and consumers alike, who fear it could lead to Australia becoming a cashless society.

The number of bank-owned ATMs have significantly decreased since 2017. Image source: fanjianhua on Freepik.

According to data compiled by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the number of bank-owned ATMs has plummeted from 13,814 in 2017 to just 5,693.

Over the same period, the number of bank branches has decreased from 5,694 to 3,588.

This decline is happening despite major banks like Commonwealth Bank reporting substantial profits.

Earlier this February, the bank announced a half-yearly profit of $5 billion, only slightly down from its previous six-month record result.

Liberal Senator Jonathon Duniam has voiced his concern over this trend, arguing that banks are failing regional Australians by not keeping their ATMs functional.

'Frankly it’s probably cost-cutting measures on the part of banks that I find very disappointing,' he said.

'I think these organisations that make significant profits should be required to maintain these facilities in regional communities.'

'I’ve got nothing against profits but delivering on these services to communities is critically important.'

'They’ve closed the branches. ATMs are a much cheaper alternative. Please keep them particularly in regional communities and big cities too.'

Senator Duniam also highlighted the dangers of an over-reliance on electronic transactions.

He recalled the recent mass outage of the Optus network in November, which rendered many EFTPOS machines useless.

'What do we do if we don’t have ATMs?' he asked.

'If people aren’t using cash, if shops won’t accept cash we are going to be a bit stuck.'

The senator also noted that many elderly people are uncomfortable with electronic transactions, further underscoring the need for maintaining cash access.

Banks have defended their decision to close branches and ATMs by pointing out that fewer customers are using these services.

By the end of 2022, cash only accounted for 13 per cent of Australian consumer payments, compared to 70 per cent in 2007.

Last December, Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock suggested that businesses should charge fees to Australians who use cash. While she admitted such a move was unlikely due to potential backlash, she argued that from an economist's point of view, it was justifiable.

'As economists you want people to face the prices of using particular services that reflect the cost of those services,' Ms Bullock said.

LNP Senator Gerard Rennick, who initiated and sits on a Senate committee conducting an inquiry into bank closures, responded by saying Ms Bullock was 'way out of touch' for suggesting the idea.

He was adamant that Australians should never have to pay extra to use cash.

He also accused Ms Bullock of losing sight of her area of responsibility.

'She should be representing the interests of the Australian people,' Senator Rennick said.

Key Takeaways

• ATMs in Australia have decreased substantially since 2017, with numbers cut by more than half.
• Senator Jonathon Duniam advocated for banks to maintain ATM services, particularly in regional areas, and criticised bank cost-cutting measures despite their significant profits.
• Concerns have been raised about the potential challenges and risks of a cashless society, especially for those uncomfortable with electronic transactions, such as many elderly people.
• There are differing opinions on whether businesses should charge for cash transactions, with Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock suggesting it could be justified, while Senator Gerard Rennick strongly opposes extra fees for using cash.

What are your thoughts on this trend? Have you been affected by the closure of ATMs or bank branches in your area? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

 

[Dija]

Completely agree

 

[mylittletibbies]

Michelle Bullock should perhaps
consider a different job. What a ridiculous comment.
How did everybody manage before they bought in cards and we all used cash
Banks should be made to keep ATMs available, especially in areas where they have shut
branches. They just get greedier and greedier, with OUR money.

 

[Greg350]

The banks remove an ATM when the need is not there for them anymore. Do you think ATM's run for free, they don't, they take a lot of money to run, if there are not enough people using a particular machine it's not viable so it's removed.

Of course there's always someone who would like to use a machine at a certain location, but you can't have a machine everywhere and the fact is, people like using cards. Electronic backing is an option for everyone, no one ever had to use it but people are, people are driving this change.

 

[mylittletibbies]

The banks remove an ATM when the need is not there for them anymore. Do you think ATM's run for free, they don't, they take a lot of money to run, if there are not enough people using a particular machine it's not viable so it's removed.

Of course there's always someone who would like to use a machine at a certain location, but you can't have a machine everywhere and the fact is, people like using cards. Electronic backing is an option for everyone, no one ever had to use it but people are, people are driving this change.

That may be so, but it appears that Banks will not be happy until they have no overheads and only profits.
People keep blindly using their cards, but are the first to scream when there are outages and their cards are useless.
They'll scream even louder when there's no cash and we get started being charged through the nose every time we use our cards.

 

[June E]

Why are the people of Australia not having a choice ? The banks are forcing this on us so they can up their exorbitant profits even more ! It is not good enough, power and the internet is not reliable for people to access their own money.
What is the Gov saying about it ? Nothing I guess !

 

[Sometimetodaysunnycharlie]

Cash is legal tender and any attempt to go cashless should be fought t with vigour. Not everybody wants big brother knowing where every cent you spend goes….what about the recent electricity outage, computers, mobile phones all out, as I said you need CASH…. also when having home maintenance done you can get handy discounts for CASH….

 

[Greg350]

That may be so, but it appears that Banks will not be happy until they have no overheads and only profits.
People keep blindly using their cards, but are the first to scream when there are outages and their cards are useless.
They'll scream even louder when there's no cash and we get started being charged through the nose every time we use our cards.

"no overheads and only profits"

You have no idea about how a business runs do you. ALL businesses ALWAYS have overheads, there are always costs to pay to run a business, it's not free. And of course they are out to make a profit, you do know that's how most of the world's economies work - business makes profit. maybe you'd prefer the North Korean model?
Only a small number of people 'scream' when they can't use their cards, most know damn well that the world does not end at that point in time. They also know that cash when lost or stolen is gone forever, a card can be replaced , a card when used fraudulently will see the owner reimbursed.

Now why would the ones who are using cards, who are very happy to use cards, ones who probably have no cash on them at all all the time "scream even louder" when there's no cash?

People have very short memories, surely in your life you have wanted to buy something and the power is out, that means the cash register does not work, the shops will not sell anything, cash is irrelevant at those times. This is similar to electronic banking which is online over 99% of the time, if you cannot use your card at a certain time/place it is NOT the end of the world.

 

[mylittletibbies]

"no overheads and only profits"

You have no idea about how a business runs do you. ALL businesses ALWAYS have overheads, there are always costs to pay to run a business, it's not free. And of course they are out to make a profit, you do know that's how most of the world's economies work - business makes profit. maybe you'd prefer the North Korean model?
Only a small number of people 'scream' when they can't use their cards, most know damn well that the world does not end at that point in time. They also know that cash when lost or stolen is gone forever, a card can be replaced , a card when used fraudulently will see the owner reimbursed.

Now why would the ones who are using cards, who are very happy to use cards, ones who probably have no cash on them at all all the time "scream even louder" when there's no cash?

People have very short memories, surely in your life you have wanted to buy something and the power is out, that means the cash register does not work, the shops will not sell anything, cash is irrelevant at those times. This is similar to electronic banking which is online over 99% of the time, if you cannot use your card at a certain time/place it is NOT the end of the world.

Well people certainly act as though it is,as was observed in the recent outages.
I am not stupid, of course I know businesses always have overheads. I was in businesses myself for many years. I was only making a point that Banks keep dreaming up more and more ways to cut staff, services etc to make more and more profits at the expense of their customers. If you don't think that we will be charged exhorbitant fees for using cards, when there is no longer any cash, and that people won't then start screaming about that,then you are living in lala land.
Banks maybe should remember that without our money they would be out of business.

 

[Bill Mcl]

The banks remove an ATM when the need is not there for them anymore. Do you think ATM's run for free, they don't, they take a lot of money to run, if there are not enough people using a particular machine it's not viable so it's removed.

Of course there's always someone who would like to use a machine at a certain location, but you can't have a machine everywhere and the fact is, people like using cards. Electronic backing is an option for everyone, no one ever had to use it but people are, people are driving this change.

Banks are supposed to be a service industry, through greed they have turned into money making businesses. Not every service of banking is supposed to be making a profit. They make BILLIONS of profit, they should easily be able to cover the losses made by ATM's and cash. THE DIGITAL WORLD IS COSTING BANKS TONS OF MONEY FOR SECURITY, YET SCAMMERS WILL STEAL MORE THAN ALL THE ROBBERIES IN HISTORY

 

[Rob44]

Michelle Bullock should perhaps
consider a different job. What a ridiculous comment.
How did everybody manage before they bought in cards and we all used cash
Banks should be made to keep ATMs available, especially in areas where they have shut
branches. They just get greedier and greedier, with OUR money.

We used cash and CHEQUE BOOKS. We POSTED cheques to utilities to pay bills. And in the UK the local POST OFFICE used to provide the Post Office's banking service with a PASSBOOK so we were never short of a local bank.

We didn't need the bloody internet or ATMs or plastic cards or mobile phones Or even a nearby commercial bank.. Life was easy.

 

[Greg350]

Well people certainly act as though it is,as was observed in the recent outages.
I am not stupid, of course I know businesses always have overheads. I was in businesses myself for many years. I was only making a point that Banks keep dreaming up more and more ways to cut staff, services etc to make more and more profits at the expense of their customers. If you don't think that we will be charged exhorbitant fees for using cards, when there is no longer any cash, and that people won't then start screaming about that,then you are living in lala land.
Banks maybe should remember that without our money they would be out of business.

The vocal minority of whinges who make the most noise, that's far from everyone.
People have been whinging about banks as long as I can remember, nothing has changed, I worked in one 45 years ago, whinging at that time about ATMs.

And exorbitant fees, again, 45 years ago the same complaints, here we are 45 years later and I do not pay any fees on my bank accounts, structure your banking correctly and they reward you with no fees.

Banks need our money? Yes, and people NEED THEM for loans, need them for business operations, it works both ways.

 

[drambuie69]

I think some of the comments posted by Greg 350 are a bit dubious... my mate had money scammed through electronic cards when he made a purchase overseas... the bank constantly fobbed him off with a lot of double talk one of which was: 'You must have given out your password details to someone', they then told him he had to prove that the money was taken out of his account, which was with C..wealth before they would investigate further. The FBI in the States became involved and caught the 'scammer' who had stolen money from not only persons in the States but, several persons in Aust. four of which were with my mates Bank. The scammer was able to withdraw fairly large amounts and the Bank did not make any inquiries with any of the account holders about the unusual withdrawals. My mate was able to produce documentation supplied by the FBI setting out what had happened however, the bank still dragged their feet. Seven years after the event my mate was offered a partial settlement offer which still left him $2650 out of pocket. The bank put this down to the 'cost of making their inquiries,' they didn't do anything until after they received proof from the FBI. Banks will soon run/operate this Country by their control of the economy, you only have to see what happened when the Royal Commission was held into the banking system. Look at all the 'scams they were running' and yet, not one person/manager/CEO, was prosecuted...Don't look for any help from any Gov. their priority is to keep their own 'snout in the money trough'. As for the head of the Reserve Bank, funny when someone is on a six/seven/nine figure salary they lose sight of the real world and move into a very select world with all the so-called 'smart people', who don't really feel the cost of living reality...

 

[Bill Mcl]

I think some of the comments posted by Greg 350 are a bit dubious... my mate had money scammed through electronic cards when he made a purchase overseas... the bank constantly fobbed him off with a lot of double talk one of which was: 'You must have given out your password details to someone', they then told him he had to prove that the money was taken out of his account, which was with C..wealth before they would investigate further. The FBI in the States became involved and caught the 'scammer' who had stolen money from not only persons in the States but, several persons in Aust. four of which were with my mates Bank. The scammer was able to withdraw fairly large amounts and the Bank did not make any inquiries with any of the account holders about the unusual withdrawals. My mate was able to produce documentation supplied by the FBI setting out what had happened however, the bank still dragged their feet. Seven years after the event my mate was offered a partial settlement offer which still left him $2650 out of pocket. The bank put this down to the 'cost of making their inquiries,' they didn't do anything until after they received proof from the FBI. Banks will soon run/operate this Country by their control of the economy, you only have to see what happened when the Royal Commission was held into the banking system. Look at all the 'scams they were running' and yet, not one person/manager/CEO, was prosecuted...Don't look for any help from any Gov. their priority is to keep their own 'snout in the money trough'. As for the head of the Reserve Bank, funny when someone is on a six/seven/nine figure salary they lose sight of the real world and move into a very select world with all the so-called 'smart people', who don't really feel the cost of living reality...

Those so called smart people don't care about the cost of living reality, they only care about controlling our money for their own benefit.

 

[mylittletibbies]

The vocal minority of whinges who make the most noise, that's far from everyone.
People have been whinging about banks as long as I can remember, nothing has changed, I worked in one 45 years ago, whinging at that time about ATMs.

And exorbitant fees, again, 45 years ago the same complaints, here we are 45 years later and I do not pay any fees on my bank accounts, structure your banking correctly and they reward you with no fees.

Banks need our money? Yes, and people NEED THEM for loans, need them for business operations, it works both ways.

Oh,so now I know why you stick up for the banks. At least 45 years ago you were lucky enough to have a job in a bank, along with thousands of others.
Where are those jobs now.
There are plenty of credit unions where you can get housing loans.
Also you can get private loans from solicitors. I have done this over the years, thru my own solicitor, on better terms than the bank.
I belong to a member bank, where I pay no fees, get excellent service, something the major banks have completely forgotten about
Sorry to keep on whinging, NOT!!!

 

[mylittletibbies]

Those so called smart people don't care about the cost of living reality, they only care about controlling our money for their own benefit.

Be careful Greg 350 will accuse you of whinging.
Funny how nobody seems to agree with him,but then that's probably because we are the stupid whinging minority, lol.

 

[Greg350]

I think some of the comments posted by Greg 350 are a bit dubious... my mate had money scammed through electronic cards when he made a purchase overseas... the bank constantly fobbed him off with a lot of double talk one of which was: 'You must have given out your password details to someone', they then told him he had to prove that the money was taken out of his account, which was with C..wealth before they would investigate further. The FBI in the States became involved and caught the 'scammer' who had stolen money from not only persons in the States but, several persons in Aust. four of which were with my mates Bank. The scammer was able to withdraw fairly large amounts and the Bank did not make any inquiries with any of the account holders about the unusual withdrawals. My mate was able to produce documentation supplied by the FBI setting out what had happened however, the bank still dragged their feet. Seven years after the event my mate was offered a partial settlement offer which still left him $2650 out of pocket. The bank put this down to the 'cost of making their inquiries,' they didn't do anything until after they received proof from the FBI. Banks will soon run/operate this Country by their control of the economy, you only have to see what happened when the Royal Commission was held into the banking system. Look at all the 'scams they were running' and yet, not one person/manager/CEO, was prosecuted...Don't look for any help from any Gov. their priority is to keep their own 'snout in the money trough'. As for the head of the Reserve Bank, funny when someone is on a six/seven/nine figure salary they lose sight of the real world and move into a very select world with all the so-called 'smart people', who don't really feel the cost of living reality...

Someone used my credit card in NZ, $3000 dollars, the bank called ME hours later, I didn't know about it, three days later the money was back in my account.

The bank wears it, they rarely get the money back, hence the very high interest rates on credit cards, one of the reasons. 45 years ago the CBA was writing off 500 million in bad debts, the vast majority on overseas credit card fraudulent transactions, that's why there's a valid to date on cards, the fraud stops when the card expires.
You always hear stories about having problems with getting money back, but the vast, vast majority are refunded in a timely manner. The case you are talking about sounds complex, most are noting like that. Of course you can carry around cash all the time, have that stolen or lost and there is no way to refund that, it's gone for good.

 

[mylittletibbies]

Someone used my credit card in NZ, $3000 dollars, the bank called ME hours later, I didn't know about it, three days later the money was back in my account.

The bank wears it, they rarely get the money back, hence the very high interest rates on credit cards, one of the reasons. 45 years ago the CBA was writing off 500 million in bad debts, the vast majority on overseas credit card fraudulent transactions, that's why there's a valid to date on cards, the fraud stops when the card expires.
You always hear stories about having problems with getting money back, but the vast, vast majority are refunded in a timely manner. The case you are talking about sounds complex, most are noting like that. Of course you can carry around cash all the time, have that stolen or lost and there is no way to refund that, it's gone for good.

Nobody carts around the amounts of money, in their wallets, that people are scammed out of everyday.
Get real, you're comparing lemons with oranges.
Do you expect us to believe that the banks keep covering scams on the card until the expiry date. Don't they know that the card can be cancelled,dah!!

 

[Greg350]

Be careful Greg 350 will accuse you of whinging.
Funny how nobody seems to agree with him,but then that's probably because we are the stupid whinging minority, lol.

Correct, you are

 

[bid13]

The reason people don’t use atm’s is the fees charged by banks and safety concerns. I work in retail and and find people are drawing out cash with their groceries as there is no fees and they feel safer. As for businesses that don’t except cash sales I don’t think that is right as cash is a legal tender therefore they can’t refuse it.