Access Credit Union is shutting down branches in five small communities in southern Manitoba this spring and fall.
As of May 22, the Gretna, Lowe Farm, Miami, and Birds Hill branches will all close and consolidate with the nearest larger Access CU location (Altona, Morris, Morden, and 2526 Main St., Winnipeg, respectively). On Sept. 17, the Lundar branch will also close, consolidating with the branch in Eriksdale.
Access CEO and president Larry Davey says this move is intended to optimize resources to provide better service to members and adapt to the evolving banking landscape.
“It’s certainly something we don’t take lightly,” he said. “But, as we’ve seen over the past number of years, members continue to gravitate to more convenient options along the electronic lines … members are just visiting the branches far less than they used to.”
In fact, Davey estimates less than five per cent of transactions at Access take place in person at its branches. The vast majority of members are accessing most services through mobile apps, online banking, or phone banking.
“We analyze this ongoing,” Davey explained. “We are also able to understand the behaviour patterns of members as to where they’re utilizing their debit cards … and in most situations members are travelling to the larger communities where we have branches.”
The Gretna and Lowe Farm branches, for example, are only about 10 minutes away from the Altona and Morris branches they’ll be consolidating with, he pointed out.
As well, an increasing number of staff at these smaller branches do not live in the communities they work in, Davey noted.
“So they’re travelling, and there’s situations where weather stops them from being able to go in, and that has an impact on member service as well,” he said, pointing out the locations with just a handful of employees also come with security concerns for staff. “We’re trying to consider all of these things.”
All affected staff—these branches have about two to four employees each—will be offered employment elsewhere within the Access CU network.
“Nobody’s losing their jobs,” Davey stressed. “They’re all being moved to other positions within the organization.”
Access CU members affected by these closures will have the same account number at their new branches.
Davey encourages anyone uncertain about making the most of the digital banking services available to stop by their local branch to learn how to use them.
“We’ve really been asking staff to spend the time with members to outline the convenience and the availability of technology,” he said.
Davey stressed these five communities are still an important part of the Access service area. While a physical branch may no longer be present, Access intends to continue to support community initiatives and offer programming there.
“It’s one of our values that the credit union is helping our communities and investing in our communities,” he said. “Those communities where we have members, we will continue to support those communities in the ways we have in the past.”
There are no other branches currently slated for closure, though Davey noted they are always assessing the efficiency of their network.
“We have considerations both on the consolidation side and on whether we should open branches in areas that we might not be located right now,” he said. “That’s something else we continue to look at but, again, what type of branch you open is dependent on how much people are going to use it.”
Various mergers in recent years have made Access Credit Union the largest credit union in the province.
The closure of these five locations will bring its network to 47 branches across southern Manitoba.
