The Westpac Branch is to close the Wauchope branch on Friday November 15.
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The nearest branch will now be located at 35 Horton Street in Port Macquarie, as will the nearest ATM.
Customers have been advised that they can bank online at westpac.com.au or by downloading the Westpac mobile banking app.
The Wauchope Gazette contacted Westpac to ask if there would be redundancies as a result of the closure. The bank said that with any closure, they work with all affected employees to identify redeployment opportunities where possible.
"When making any decision on branch closures, it is not a decision we take lightly," said a Westpac spokesperson.
"We take a number of factors into consideration, including usage, location, proximity to other services and fee-free ATMs, as well as community needs.
"We're committed to providing quality services for our customers however they choose to bank. In the past 12 months, we've invested $83 million in our branch and ATM network as part of our continued strategy to provide enhanced services, support and technology where there is strong customer demand.
"At the same time, growing customer uptake of our digital banking services means over-the-counter transactions are in decline, with less than two per cent of customer transactions taking place in our branch network.
"We've experienced a 15% decline in customers visiting our Westpac Wauchope branch over the past three years.
"Customers will be supported by our Westpac Port Macquarie branch. They can also take advantage of our investment in the local Bank@Post service, 107 metres away. Customers can perform everyday banking transactions such as checking account balances, paying credit card bills, and making deposits and withdrawals via the Bank@Post service," added the spokesperson.
In 2017, Westpac closed its branch in Laurieton.
One Wauchope customer took to social media to say she was very frustrated by the closure and asked why the bank was shutting its doors when the population is growing in Wauchope and the surrounding areas.
Another customer recalled how in 1986, the branch had a manager and 13 other staff members. Anne Watkins said she felt sorry for the older folk of Wauchope who do not understand internet banking and love to come into town, walk into their bank and receive excellent customer service.
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Letitia Fitzpatrick
Worked as a journalist and assistant producer for BBC news and current affairs in the UK, Ulster Television, Q Radio and the Irish News in Northern Ireland. Moved to Australia and joined Fairfax Media in 2016. Won a Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship award in 2018 for reporting the Pappinbarra bushfires and the subsequent Rotary appeal which raised $30,000.
Worked as a journalist and assistant producer for BBC news and current affairs in the UK, Ulster Television, Q Radio and the Irish News in Northern Ireland. Moved to Australia and joined Fairfax Media in 2016. Won a Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship award in 2018 for reporting the Pappinbarra bushfires and the subsequent Rotary appeal which raised $30,000.
