Residents unhappy over the closure of Absa

Absa clients have raised concerns over reports that the branch in Flora Centre will be closing down at the end of August.

The centre and Absa have been approached to verify this report.

“As an organisation that constantly looks to cater for an ever-evolving customer-base, our propositions (including customer touchpoints), are continually reviewed in line with the latest insights, banking trends and customer feedback. When evaluating the impact of a branch on a community and the customers it serves, each case is considered individually and each branch is evaluated within its own dynamics,” said Tshiwela Mhlantla, Managing Executive of Physical Channels at the Absa Group.

Mhlantla went on to say that generally, the decision to close a branch is a last resort, as providing quality banking services to the customers remains at the centre of Absa’s ambition to deliver full-value banking. “With this in mind, and after a considered review, Absa will indeed be closing the Flora Centre branch at the end of August 2019. It is important to note that there are currently three other Absa branches within a six kilometre radius, including the Florida, Roodepoort and Clearwater branches,” she said.

According to Mhlantla, the Flora Centre branch has seen a sharp decline in frontline customer activity over the past three years. This is attributed to customers making greater use of self-service platforms such as ATMs which are cost-efficient for customers.

“This also enables the customers to take advantage of the added range of services embedded in the ATMs, as well as internet and mobile banking for day-to-day transactions, such as payments, transfers, balance enquiries and account maintenance,” said Mhlantla.

According to a concerned resident in the greater Florida area, the closure will impact the mall.

“This move will also perhaps be catalytic in terms of the closure of the other banks located in the mall. Banks are a big drawcard at shopping malls and with less or no banking facilities there will be less feet in the mall, impacting the survival of the remaining shops,” said the resident.

Clients will now have to find alternative branches to visit for their banking issues.