As the push for a cashless society continues, so does the exodus of financial institutions from the Yamba CBD, with BCU the latest to announce it will close its doors early next year.
The Yamba CBD was once home to six different financial institutions, ANZ, BCU, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, St George, and Westpac.
But over the past 10 years, the gradual attrition of banks in the area has forced some locals to travel, or change financial institutions, to conduct their business.
Westpac, located on Yamba Street was the first bank to close on February 10, 2016.
Soon the ANZ and St George followed.
While banks continued to close their doors in Yamba over the past decade, the exodus continued across the Lower Clarence, with the closure of NAB, St George and CBA branches at Maclean, and BCU at Iluka.
BCU’s Iluka branch, the town’s only bank, closed on February 10, 2023.
Then came the reduction in the opening hours of Yamba’s financial institutions.
On November 20, 2023, the Commonwealth Bank announced the branch would close their doors to face-to-face customers from 1pm Monday to Friday.
At 2pm, Commonwealth Bank Yamba staff take to the phones as part of CBA’s Australian based Financial Assistance and Direct Banking teams.
NAB Yamba is only open from 9.30am until 12.30pm, from Monday to Friday.
The move towards a cashless society started with the introduction of the Bankcard 50-years-ago and was driven by technological advancements.
It really took off with the COVID pandemic when consumers and retailers were reluctant to handle potentially infected notes and coins.
Last year, Angel Zhong, Associate Professor of Finance at RMIT University said she believed that the move to a cashless society in Australia was inevitable and well underway.
Ms Zhong estimated that Australia will enter into a cashless society by 2030, slightly later than Commonwealth Bank’s prediction of 2026, and argued for government regulation of digital payment services to help navigate the transition.
Formed in 1970 by a small group of banana growers, Bananacoast Community Credit Union merged with P&N bank in 2019 and now operates as a division of Police & Nurses Limited under the BCU brand.
Customers of BCU Yamba, which states ‘Your region, your money’ on its signage are yet to be notified of the closure, but it has been announced on the BCU website.
“The BCU Bank Yamba branch is permanently closing on 11 February 2026,” the statement says
“As a customer-owned bank, we frequently review our banking channels and need to make decisions that are in the best interests of our customer base as a whole.
“As banking behaviour and customer preferences change, and face-to-face transactions across our branch networks decline, it’s important that we continue to adapt with them.
“To achieve this, we need to use our limited resources in a responsible and impactful way, now and into the future.
“There will be no redundancies, and all affected employees will be offered redeployment within BCU.
“While the branch is closing, we remain committed to minimising inconvenience and providing you with a range of alternative ways to bank close to home.”
BCU will not be closing its Maclean branch and customers are being advised they can bank there, or at the Grafton branch.
Meanwhile, in February 2025, CBA extended its commitment to pause regional branch closures until the end of July 2027.
“Our focus is on supporting our customers in regional and remote communities into the future,” CBA said in a statement.
“As part of maintaining Australia’s largest banking presence, CBA will this year invest $100 million in upgrading its branches and ATM fleet.”
When CBA made the announcement, Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh reinforced the industries commitment to regional Australia.
“Banks are ensuring Australians can continue to access high-quality banking services no matter where they live,” she said.
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 3 September 2025.
