Updated ,first published
The country’s biggest bank has promised to keep its hundreds of regional branches open until at least December 2030, even as foot traffic has fallen, and pledged to maintain widespread access to cash despite a drop in usage.
On Thursday, Commonwealth Bank announced it would extend its regional banking moratorium – which was due to end in July next year – for a further three years. Competitor Westpac extended its moratorium on rural bank branch closures to 2030 last year.
CBA, which has the biggest banking network in the country with more than 600 branches and 1700 ATMs, has also committed to keeping cash accessible, even as Reserve Bank data shows cash usage in a typical week has fallen from 97 per cent of Australians in 2007 to 50 per cent in 2025.
CBA retail bank group Angus Sullivan said the bank maintained a “long-term enduring commitment” to cash despite reduced usage.
“As surcharges are removed from credit and debit transactions electronically at the point of sale, I’m guessing that will further support electronic payments,” he said. “The trend with cash is clear, but we’ve got a commitment to support cash.”
The ban on surcharges for card and digital payments came into effect earlier on Thursday.
CBA boss Matt Comyn said while the share of transactions settled using cash continued to fall, the total number over the past one or two years was “larger than you think”.
He also said he could not foresee “any conceivable timeline” when the bank would not be supporting cash.
CBA head of customer service network Samantha Taranto said the bank was seeing foot traffic across many branches falling as customers transitioned to digital banking.
“And as the digital pathways improve, we do see traffic into branches across regional and metro areas gradually reducing,” she said.
But Comyn said some customers would continue to have a “heavy orientation” towards face-to-face banking, and the decision to pause regional bank closures was aimed at giving customers certainty.
Sullivan said having a physical presence in the regions would also help the bank win over business banking customers.
“As any deadline tends to loom, even if it’s a year away, people start asking questions about what’s happening,” he said. “We know uncertainty isn’t great for people… and we see a lot of opportunity in the regions.”
Sullivan said employees in some very remote communities worked in branches with reduced service hours, but the bank tried to find full-time work for them where possible.
“They spend time serving [in person] customers when the branch is open, and then when the branch is closed to customers, we give them other work: it could be on the phone, or it could be messaging with customers.”
CBA also has a partnership with Australia Post in place until 2032, giving customers access to banking services at a further 3300 locations.
The bank announced it would also spend a further $140 million to improve branches across Australia, including reducing wait times, improving responsiveness and personal branch service, and making it more convenient to access lenders, specialist and business bankers, including in metro locations.
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Millie Muroi is the economics writer at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age covering workplace and economics. She was formerly an economics correspondent based in Canberra’s Press Gallery and the banking writer based in Sydney.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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