Bank's cashless branches leave customers empty-handed

• By Avi Yemini

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The march toward a cashless society continues with the Commonwealth Bank now operating branches where customers cannot access their money over-the-counter.

Tellers are unavailable to give customers their money at branches including Commonwealth Bank Place in the centre of Sydney, along with the nearby South Eveleigh, Barangaroo, Penrith and University of Sydney.

The bank is calling these cashless branches 'specialist centres'.

According to a report in The Daily Mail Australia some 'specialist centre' branches in Brisbane and Melbourne also no longer provide over the counter cash withdrawals or deposits.

Deposits and withdrawals can still be made via on-site ATMs.

But if a customer walks into a specialist branch without their ATM card, the assistanc is not particularly special.

A customer could make a withdrawal of up to $500 a day using the CommBank app on their phone, but for customers who need more of their money or who don't have their phone with them, their funds cannot be accessed.

Those customers would need to find a branch that still offers teller transactions.

The Commonwealth Bank said in a statement that the specialist centres were designed to deal with complex banking needs rather than everyday transactions.

But many customers took to social media complaining that bank branches without money were ridiculous.

“That's like having a petrol station with no fuel! Do they expect people to call into the branch just to say hi and have a chat,” one customer said.

Other banks have already made similar moves. In March the ANZ quietly announced that some of its branches would no longer stock cash.