By Greg Brown
WE might not have an actual ANZ bank in Beerwah but after many months of uncertainty ANZ has finally found somewhere to install an automatic teller machine.
After community anger erupted when ANZ closed its Beerwah branch back in February, ANZ assured local customers that a Smart ATM would be located somewhere in Beerwah.
Last week the bank came good on that promise when one was installed in the Beerwah Marketplace, just around the corner from the K Hub entrance at the Beerwah Village end of the shopping complex.
The ANZ Smart ATM allows you to do standard things like checking your balance and taking out money, as well as depositing cheques and cash.
The teller machine has replaced the RediATM machine that was located at the same spot.
After the closure of the ANZ branch, a concerned local conducted a survey to gather community feedback, asking residents for their thoughts on the need for an ANZ branch in Beerwah and the consequences of the branch closure.
Respondents overwhelming said that they would struggle to undertake private and business banking without a physical branch in the town.
Many comments related to the need to deposit cash and cheques with the nearest branch locations in Caloundra and Morayfield.
One survey respondent said it was also only an eight-minute drive from their office to the Beerwah branch, whereas the Caloundra branch could take up to 45 minutes “to get to, pay for parking, 10-15 minutes to get the cheques processed, then another 45-minute drive back to the office – in all the round trip takes me out of the office for at least one and a half hours”.
ANZ district manager Glenn Kaberry said the bank had promised the Beerwah community a new Smart ATM and the Beerwah Village Shopping Centre site was a great result.
“ANZ Smart ATMs offer a range of functions including the ability to deposit cash and cheques, in addition to services offered by standard ATMs such as withdrawals, transferring funds and changing PIN numbers,” Mr Kaberry said.
“This new Smart ATM will help our customers with all of their banking needs.”
Although the Smart ATM won’t replace the convenience and friendly service of the old branch, at least it gives ANZ account holders something … which is better than Maleny, which lost its branch and its ATM.
If you still prefer the personal touch in banking, you can always vote with your feet and move to Bank of Queensland (Beerwah and Maleny), Commonwealth (Beerwah) or Queensland Country Bank (Maleny).
Main image: Katie from McGrath Real Estate thinks the new ANZ ATM is very handy for her to use