Bank closing Rotorua branch

Heartland Bank on Hinemoa St. Photo / Stephen Parker

A Rotorua bank is preparing to permanently close its doors as more customers opt for digital and telephone banking.

Heartland Bank will close its Rotorua branch next month, with its last day of business on Friday, April 24.

Heartland Bank marketing and communications manager Emma Quantrill said the closure was due to the company restructuring the way it serviced its customers.

"We've gone through a lot of mergers in the last few years and, as a result, we have inherited lots of sites. When we conducted a review we discovered there were very few customers visiting the Rotorua site."

The bank, formerly known as Southern Cross, officially opened its doors on the Hinemoa St site just over two years ago, in February 2013.

Ms Quantrill said at this stage, the Rotorua site was the only closure for the company and customers were advised last week.

"We sent a letter to our Rotorua customers outlining the reason for the closure being not enough people were using the service. We've had a couple of calls about the decision but, for the most part, people seem to support the change and are satisfied with what we will be providing as alternatives."

She said there had been a steady decline in the number of people walking through the doors so it was "unlikely this closure will affect the majority of our customers".

"We will continue to communicate with our Rotorua customers, but it will be primarily through phone and internet banking as that is the way people have indicated they want to engage."

Ms Quantrill said the bank had stressed to customers that it would not be leaving the region.

"We will have a staff member based in Tauranga who will be available to meet with any Rotorua customers who still want to engage face to face."