Westpac NZ is piloting a community banking service van that will travel between towns to improve banking access in New Zealand's regions.
The new Westpac community banking van will take to the roads of Southland from mid-May, spending one day each week parked up in central locations in Windsor, Winton and Te Anau.
Westpac NZ Consumer Banking & Wealth spokesperson Andrew Twidle says a lot of work has gone into the pilot.
"Westpac already has the biggest regional branch footprint of the country's four largest banks, and we see the community banking service as complementing that network," Mr Twidle says.
"In choosing where to run the pilot, we looked at where there was the most opportunity for a mobile service to have an impact. While Westpac has a strong branch presence in Southland, the widespread geography of the towns there made it a great region to trial this approach."
Westpac employees from various Southland branches will travel with the van to the different locations each week to support customers. The bankers will be able to assist with a wide range of services, including opening accounts, applying for home or personal loans, pinning and issuing cards, general support with using online channels, and numerous other tasks.
The van will be cashless, so staff won't be able to take cash deposits or issue cash, however they will endeavour to assist customers at nearby ATMs where possible.
Westpac has been trialling a community banker service in Wairoa for the past six months. Through this service, a Westpac banker visits a community centre in Wairoa one day a fortnight to help locals with a range of banking services.
"The Wairoa community banking pilot has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and we've been able to use that information to help us determine the best approach to take with the van," Mr Twidle says.
"People want their banking to be simple and easy, and that's what we're aiming to deliver with these services.
"While the Wairoa community banking service is still in its trial phase, we're already exploring how we might be able to offer a similar service in other regions.
"We're also really excited to see how Southland locals react to the Westpac community banking van.
"We want to make sure we're serving our communities in ways that best suit the people living there, so we can deliver on the banking needs of even more Kiwis."
