2 weeks Ago
Two of South Africa's major banks have closed branches in recent years, and another has significantly reduced branch square meterage as banking habits in the country shift to digital channels. Absa and Nedbank are two examples that have significantly reduced their branch footprints. Since the 2017/18 financial year, Nedbank has closed 57 of its brick-and-mortar locations, while Absa has reduced its footprint by a more modest 22 branches.
This is primarily due to more customers shifting to digital channels like banking apps and online banking platforms. Nedbank recently told MyBroadband that customers using its digital channels had grown by 9% in the past year, while digital servicing volumes grew by almost 20%. "We have seen a corresponding decrease in our in-branch volumes over the same period," it added.
While Standard Bank has increased its number of branches in South Africa over the past five years, it has significantly reduced branch square meterage for the same reasons. Standard Bank said in-branch transactions declined by 13% to 2.5 million during the year's first half, while online transactions increased by 30%.
"Online transactions increased by 30% to 1.5 billion transactions with Standard Bank clients performing an average of 10,400 digital transactions per month, compared to just 0.017 transactions in branches," it said.
Standard Bank said it had reduced branch square meters by 4% to 239,000m2 to adapt to shifting banking habits. It emphasised that it had done so without reducing customer access points. "The number of points of representation in South Africa now standards at 654," it added.
This means Standard Bank has opened two more branches in South Africa since the end of the 2022/23 financial year. Absa told MyBroadband that it is enhancing its branch network while reducing floor space. "Floor space across the branch network was reduced by 4% to 288,825m2 as.
.. Myles Illidge.
