Banking Branches, ATMs Continue to Disappear Across Australia: APRA

Since 2020, bank branches have declined nearly 33 percent with ATMs dropping 46.5 percent.

The front entrance of a Bendigo Bank branch in Brisbane CBD in Australia on Aug. 28, 2025. Daniel Y. Teng/The Epoch Times

The volume of physical banking services has declined again across Australia, according to latest figures.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) revealed numbers have dropped from 3,360 in the year to June 2024, to 3,205 as of June 2025—down 4.6 percent.

These include physical bank branch, ATMs, and Bank@Post services.

Since 2020, the overall number of physical banking and cash services plunged 32.8 percent from 4,769 in June 2020, to 3,205 in June 2025.

As for ATMs, since June 2020 volumes have dropped a whopping 46.5 percent from 9,621 machines to just 5,143.

Over the past year, the decrease was 6 percent, from 5,476 to 5,143 machines.

“The latest statistics show the ongoing trend of a decline in physical points of presence over the last year, albeit at a slower rate than previous years,” APRA said in its release.

However, the data suggested the decline in regional and remote areas was slower due to a government pledge to keep physical services available.

“Regional and remote areas experienced the smallest fall recorded since this data series began (1.9 percent), due in part to a moratorium on regional branch closures agreed between the government and major banks in February this year.”

A Snapshot of the Nation

APRA divided the country into several sections.

Inner regional branch numbers slid from 841 to 828 in June 2025.

Outer regional Australia branches fell from 517 to 506, while in remote areas branches fell from 91 to 87.

Bank branches in cities, meanwhile, declined fastest by 6.7 percent from 1,872 in June 2024, to 1,746 this June.

ATMs in cities fell 5.9 percent from 3,633 to 3,418, and in inner regional Australia dropped 6.6 percent from 1,068 to 997.

APRA said these trends should take into consideration “increased usage of digital banking services and the presence of other service providers.”

Meanwhile, Bank@Post services with Australia Post also declined nationally 1.8 percent from 3,427 to 3,365.

While EFTPOS terminals also fell 1.7 percent to 693,566 in June 2025, down from 705,711 in June 2024.

Since June 2020, there has been a steadily decline of 17 percent from 836,843 to 693,566 services.

Closures Amid Government Pledge to Keep Branches Open

In February 2025, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he secured commitments from the banks to make sure services stay available in regional areas.

Chalmers said the National Australia Bank (NAB) had agreed to a moratorium on regional branch closures, while Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Westpac expanded their existing moratoriums.

The government said it imposed commitments on ANZ and Suncorp to stop regional closures before July 31, 2027.

“People are increasingly using digital banking and payment methods, but face‑to‑face services remain essential, particularly for people and small businesses in regional areas, where digital alternatives may not always be accessible or meet their needs,” Chalmers said at the time.

The Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) recent annual report noted that physical outlets had dropped by half amid the digital transition.

“Despite branch interactions falling by 50 percent in recent years as customers switch to digital channels, Australian banks still maintain a higher branch density than the OECD average,” the ABA report said (pdf).

“Banks also understand there are still people across the Australian community who want to access face to face banking services and this support means they can do so.”

Regional Forum on Banking Closures

On Oct. 16, a forum discussing the future of regional banking was held in Townsville, attended by Queensland Country Bank CEO Aaron Newman.

National Seniors Australia CEO Chris Grice said face to face banking is essential, especially for older Australians.

“Local branches provide not only services, but also advice on scams and fraud prevention, employment, sponsorship, and financial support that cannot be replicated online,” Grice said.