A unique partnership of six New Zealand banks is trialling a new approach to providing banking services in small regional communities.
Banking Hubs are being trialled in four small towns for 12 months, from November 2020.
The Hubs provide basic banking services and feature a Smart ATM, support staff and online and technology support. The Smart ATM provides for cash deposits and withdrawals, and other basic transactions are available on tablets and by phone, with staff to assist.
The Banking Hubs are in Twizel, Stoke, Martinborough and Opunake.
Each Banking Hub pilot tests different ways of adapting to community demand and needs. They provide different capabilities, with variations in technology and personal service.
NZBA has established partnerships with local organisations or use existing bank infrastructure branches to host the hubs.
During the pilots the participating banks – Kiwibank, BNZ, TSB, ANZ, ASB and Westpac – will not close any regional branches outside the local authority boundaries of the six main urban centres of Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Anyone is welcome to provide feedback about the Banking Hubs by emailing hubs@nzba.org.nz.
