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Having failed to reopen when the country moved to Alert Level 1 on June 8, the Wellsford branch of ASB has finally reopened – but opening hours have been cut to three days a week.
The bank is now open on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9am to 4.30pm, instead of five days a week as before.
Wellsford is one of 25 branches throughout the country that have had their hours cut by ASB, while a further nine city branches have been closed permanently.
ASB’s executive general manager of retail banking, Craig Sims, said the closures were not a cost saving exercise, but due to changing customer banking habits, and he pointed out that no jobs would be lost. He said there had been a 42 per cent decline in branch transactions in the past five years and 85 per cent of personal customers now preferred to use online and mobile services.
“Add to that, since lockdown in March, around 13,500 customers have used our digital channels for the first time to do their banking and they’re continuing to do so,” he said.
“No jobs will be lost as a result of these changes. Team members will have the opportunity to move to another branch or other roles within ASB, supported by training to provide more specialised guidance and advice.”
Mr Sims added that there would be additional help for older customers, including a priority phone line, a priority hour in the branch from 9am to 10am and workshops for anyone looking into using mobile and online banking for the first time.
