Australia Post Spending $4,000 per Week to Keep Cash Flowing in Remote Town

Australia Post CEO Paul Graham revealed the hard realities of keeping cash flowing in remote communities where bank closures have become more common.

This photo illustration shows three Australian banknotes taken in Melbourne, Australia on Oct. 12, 2020. William West/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s national postal service is spending $4,000 per week to fly cash into the remote mining town of Coober Pedy to keep hard currency circulating in the community.

Australia Post CEO Paul Graham had previously revealed the company would back the ongoing use of cash—as bank branches close in regional areas—but noted that this was not a sustainable solution.

“Where we are the only banking service in town, we will work with that community to ensure that the basic services are provided, but it will become increasingly difficult ... in terms of finding people to actually work in those places,” Mr. Graham told the Senate, Environment and Communications Legislation Committee on Feb. 13.

The CEO said there were significant worker shortages across remote towns like Alice Springs and Katherine in Western Australia.

“For example, in Katherine, we are billeting people down on a three-month basis from Darwin to our post office there,” he said, adding that it was often a challenge if staff members fell ill or if licensed shop owners closed their businesses.

The CEO also revealed the cost of the national postal service airlifting cash into some communities.

“So in a number of regional towns at the moment, we are flying cash in on our own ticket, so to speak, on our dime. But that’s not sustainable.

“In the town of Cooper Pedy, for example, it’s about $4,000 a week that we’re spending flying cash in to make sure that town has a provision of cash.

“But that’s not what we were set up to do, and the banks need to be cognisant of their community responsibility, and work with us to ensure communities that do have a need for cash ... that those services are made available,” Mr. Graham said.

His comments come as Australians grapple with the impending move towards a cashless society.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in October revealed that over the course of the 2022-23 financial year, banks closed 400 branches, and 700 ATMs.

Banks have pointed to the costs of operating physical branches as unsustainable, saying the increasing use of point-of-sales transfer and online payments, has resulted in a reduction in customer activity at branches.

Yet there has been some pushback against the movement with a petition against the cashless move garnering over 160,000 signatures as of Feb. 13.

“All we are asking for is what other countries are doing for their citizens: 1) A right to local access to our cash and banking services. 2) A right to choose cash to pay for food and essentials,” said Jason Bryce, of Cash Welcome.