Regional residents will be able to use their local post office for banking thanks to two of the country's biggest banks.
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National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have stuck a deal with Australia Post to allow licensed post offices to offer the Bank@Post service for the next 10 years.
Locals will be able to conduct a variety of banking transactions in more than 3500 post offices across Australia under the new deal.
The agreement comes after many regional bank branches operated by the country's big four banks have been closed in recent years.
Australia Post executive community and consumer general manager Nicole Sheffield said the "landmark 10-year in principle agreements" would give locals in regional communities peace of mind.
"We know how important the local post office is for so many communities and small businesses - particularly in regional areas," Ms Sheffield said.
"The support of CBA and NAB will ensure access to banking services for those communities can be maintained, and additional related services introduced, to better support the needs of banking customers for the next decade," Ms Sheffield said.
"The agreements will also allow us to invest further in our post office network, recognising the valuable role our people play in supporting communities across the country.
"Our post offices also play a critical role during natural disasters, emergencies and more recently through the COVID-19 pandemic with access to products and services through lockdowns and travel restrictions.
"Australia Post looks forward to working closely with CBA, NAB and our other banking partners to continue to provide essential banking services to their customers across our national network of post offices."
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CBA group executive of retail banking services, Angus Sullivan, said the institution was proud to be partnering with Australia Post.
"Millions of Australians rely on CBA to do their banking, and I'm proud that this renewed partnership gives our customers more choice with how and where they bank with us over the next decade," Mr Sullivan said.
"We know that some customers want face-to-face banking services and this partnership with Australia Post supports our commitment to ensuring our customers in regional Australia have ongoing access to these services at the more than 3,500 Bank@Post outlets across the country."
NAB group executive of personal banking, Rachel Slade echoed the sentiments, saying NAB was committed to serving its customers.
"We want to ensure we are serving our customers well no matter how they choose to bank with us," Ms Slade said.
"Together with our branch network, this partnership means our customers have more than 4000 locations they can bank with us. It provides extra support, particularly for those remote and rural customers, to be able to access face-to-face banking services."
Westpac customers will also be able to bank at their local post office after the bank's contract with Australia Post was been extended for another year.
Westpac and Australia Post are currently in negotiations regarding a possible new longer-term agreement.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
