Closing another bank

branch has finally happened. It is not closing completely. It is simply closing to the customers who need it the most.

I do need to go to the bank occasionally. There are times when I actually need some real money. I pay P... who cleans the floors in cash - I know what you are thinking but does she have a "square reader" or other device. No. It is the only way we can do it without a great deal more hassle. I also pay S.... who mows the lawn that way. He has sat at our kitchen table and added the money I pay him to his accounts. Once he actually asked me to look at something in his accounts. Yes, he is declaring what I pay him - although neither of believe that giving him something to drink also needs to be declared. I pay the other S... who does the heavy gardening for me in cash too...and I know that goes straight to a church charity I approve of as it cares for women escaping domestic violence. 

So, yes I sometimes need real money for that and other things. I imagine there are other people who need real money for similar things. There are also a very large number of people in the area who are very elderly and still use cash for everything they can - or they get their children or people like me to sort things out for them. At the other end there is a large cluster of people in social housing who are really struggling financially and prefer to use cash rather than risk the potential embarrassment of a card not working in the supermarket. 

So, the bank branch is closing to all these customers. It is closing to small businesses who want to deposit cash, get cash for change and just about everything else. 

What is it there for? I asked the question when they gave me the information. "Oh for business advice and home loans - things like that." 

This information was flung out casually along with the suggestion I could handle all my financial affairs over the internet and never go to the bank at all. If I want "cash" I can go to an ATM they told me. 

No, I can't do that either. There are two teller machines in the local shopping centre. One is often not working. It has run out of cash. The other is a privately run ATM that charges $2:50 for every transaction. I refuse to use that ATM and the first one, run by a group of banks doesn't cater for my particular needs. It doesn't cater for the needs of a lot of those who try to use it.

I can find other ways to solve the issues the closure of this service will cause but there are many other people who are going to be left bewildered and vulnerable. The old man going out of the bank at the same time as me looked at me and said, "If I have money in my hand I know exactly how much I have and how much I can spend. If I have one of those card things I have to keep writing it down. That's wrong."

Yes, it is wrong.