Digital banking increasingly popular as the Perm closes another branch

Counter service ended on Friday, the same day as the Perm’s chief executive, Terry Millett finished up after a decade in the top job.

The Perm was criticised earlier this year by Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery for the closures of its Lambton, John Hunter Hospital and Newcastle University branches but acting chief executive Mark Williams said on Tuesday there had been “no negative feedback” about the latest decision.

“The branch network will always be an important way for the Perm to deliver its services but technical advances are changing the way we do our banking,” Mr Williams said.

“Customer preference really is changing and there is no doubt it is shifting away from physical channels to digital channels.”

Mr Williams said the King Street branch had “never been one of our busiest” and had three nearby alternatives: Marketown was 700 metres away, The Junction 1.3 kilometres away, and the Hunter Street mall 1.8 kilometres away.

As far as other branches were concerned, Mr Williams said the situation remained “fluid”.

He said the Perm was mutually owned, so keeping loss-making branches open when people wanted digital services was not “a responsible use of members’ money”.

Asked how the Perm knew its customers wanted digital rather than face-to-face services, Mr Williams said branch transactions had fallen by 8 per cent a year for the past three years while internet and mobile transactions had risen from 27 million in 2016 to 32 million in 2017 and 37 million this year.

“This tells us our customer are wanting self-service, wanting to be able to do their banking themselves in their own time and at their own convenience,” Mr Williams said.

 He said none of the King Street branch staff had lost jobs in the closure.

The branch had operated since the  building opened in 1983.