Banks: new services reviewed

摘要

The withdrawal of "bricks and mortar" banking services from many parts of rural and regional Australia has caused significant inconvenience for many people. But while there has been no shortage of criticism about branch closures, the banks have received very little credit for the development of alternative services such as telephone and internet banking, which can be used to offset the loss of face-to-face service. In many respects, technology-based banking services offer vastly improved features when compared with over-the-counter service. Financial institutions probably deserve to be criticised more for their failure to adequately inform and educate their customers than for the actual changes they have made in terms of service delivery.