Te Aroha residents are disappointed to hear the small town of four thousand will lose their Westpac branch and ANZ are considering pulling their branch too.
Noel Hinge is a loyal Westpac customer and has been living in Te Aroha for 17 years.
"The staff are very nice, they know us all by our christian names and that's what I'm going to miss."
Chairman of the Te Aroha Business Association, Shaun O'Neill says the banks have it wrong, considering they are making large profits. He believes the banks are obliged to display corporate responsibility and provide a face to face service for customers. "Our locals need banking services, our older community require the banking services, so we want these banks, and other businesses to invest in our town. Not to pull out of our town."
O'Neill says everyone in the community uses the banks - and as local branches shut, elderly people, sports groups, businesses and other bank users will be inconvenienced by not being able to pop around the corner, and "have that personal relationship" with bank staff.
Both ANZ and Westpac say increasingly transactions with banks are happening outside of a physical branch as online banking services are increasing.
But Te Aroha resident Mary Steiner says she wouldn't bank online as "too many people get hacked into". "I don't want to go internet banking... It's something I don't want to do."
